Goodbye, my lover
by StillAMinx
Summary: After the events of "Dead and Gone", Sookie decides to make some changes so no-one can hurt her ever again. But will there still be a place for Eric in her new life? Rated M for ESN in later chapters
1. The decision

_Crap, I have to call Eric._

I awoke sitting bolt upright in bed that morning, staring at the clock on the wall. 11:28am. It was exactly two weeks since the end of the Fairy War and a single thought consumed my mind: My life was going to change. A lot. Starting right now.

I had known since I was in hospital after Bill and Niall rescued me, that I would never again be the same person I was before my time with Lochlan and Neave. Help had been too slow to arrive and I had experienced things no human should. Well, no-one of any species should. I had wanted desperately to die, just so it would stop. I knew that I couldn't just smooth over it and keep living my life as though nothing had happened.

That morning, for the first time, I felt like that might be OK. It was as though my mind had put together all the pieces of a puzzle that night, and I had awoken with an answer that might actually work.

I was fed up with feeling scared and lonely. I had been through so much in the previous three years that I simply couldn't take any more... but unlike the last couple of weeks when I'd wanted to give up entirely, now I had another idea. It was time for me to do something different. The way I had been living my life hadn't worked, at least not since Bill walked into Merlotte's to acquire me for his Queen and dragged me into the world of Supes.

Gran always said that everything happens for a reason, and that God would never send us a challenge that's too big for us to handle. If she was right, I knew the only reason God would allow me to be tortured would be to make me change the way I was living. I was part of the supernatural world now, whether I liked it or not, and I had to find some way to survive it... or maybe even make the best of it. I knew I could do more with my telepathy than I currently did - I had known that since Rene Lenier tried to kill me and I used it to help me fight back - but I had chosen not to use it. Perhaps that was my mistake? I had tried so hard to keep living a normal life, but pretending I was in the pleasant human world of a 50s sitcom hadn't made it so.

I couldn't stop trouble coming my way, but I could fight it head on. I would learn to defend myself, so Sookie Stackhouse would not be a helpless victim ever again. People could try to hurt me, but never again would I let them succeed.

I made a similar New Year's resolution the year before last when I told my workmates, too honestly, that I didn't want to get beaten up that year. It didn't work; Debbie Pelt tried to kill me barely two weeks later. But this time, I had something I didn't have then: this time, I had a plan. This time, I wasn't going to sit around hoping no more trouble came my way. This time, I was going to learn to tackle trouble head on, and send it right back where it came from.

Unfortunately, to put my plan into action I had to talk to Eric. I hadn't seen him since he dropped me home from Dr Ludwig's clinic, and I knew through the bond that something was worrying him. I ached for him but I had been too scared to contact him. Would he still want me, damaged as I was? If I didn't know the answer, I could still hope that he did.

Before I could give myself time to worry, I swung my legs to the floor, stepped out of bed and wandered into the kitchen in my pajamas. I had Eric's day man Bobby Burnham's phone number, so I called to leave a message before I changed my mind.

"Hello," Bobby answered on the first ring.

"Uh, hi Bobby, it's Sookie Stackhouse here," I murmured nervously.

"Hi Sookie, what can I do for you?" Bobby replied, sounding almost pleased.

That was weird. Eric had ordered him to be polite to me, but he had never sounded glad to hear from me before.

"Could you pass on a message to Eric for me?"

"Sure, what should I tell him?"

"Just let him know that I need to speak to him. Ideally in person, although I guess a phone call would do if he's too busy. I mean, I'd come see him but I'm still not really well enough..." I trailed off, unsure what else to say.

"Sure, I'll let him know you've summoned him." He sounded positively happy now. Very weird.

"Uh, thanks Bobby." I hadn't really 'summoned' Eric. "Just let him know I asked to see him, if he's got time and..." _And he still wants to see me._ OK, I wasn't going to say that out loud. "Thanks Bobby. Bye."

"Bye Sookie." He hung up.

Amelia came into the kitchen and gave me a funny look, but didn't say anything. Since Tray died, she said very little. I kept out of her thoughts; lately, they had been almost as dark as my own.

We settled into our daily routine, sitting on the couch with the TV running. Sometimes she tried to teach me some spells I could use to protect myself, but most days we just sat. I knew Amelia needed to go back to work soon, but neither of us was willing to leave the other alone yet. It was 5pm before either of us spoke.

"Maybe we should get dressed," Amelia said out of the blue.

I looked down at my pajamas. I'd been wearing them a couple of days and they probably needed to be changed, but I'd been so lost in thought I hadn't dressed. Or eaten.

"OK," I agreed and left the room.

"Take a shower first," Amelia yelled after me. Neither of us had bathed in two or three days, either.

I showered quickly and pulled on tracksuit pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. It was a warm day, but I would rather overheat than have to look at my battered limbs. Amelia insisted on looking at my scars two days ago and tried to convince me they weren't so bad, but I didn't want to see them. It was too soon. I secretly hoped Eric might give me some more blood to heal them, but I wasn't sure he could. Or would want to. I wasn't beautiful any more; I knew that.

I left my hair hanging wet around my face and went back into the living room.

Amelia looked me up and down and said sarcastically, "Way to make an effort, Sook."

I shrugged, but she wouldn't let it go.

"Sookie, Eric's gonna come over tonight. I heard you call Bobby."

"I _asked_ him to come over Amelia, it's not like he actually will."

She gave me a funny look and dragged me into my bedroom. I sat on the bed and watched while she ransacked my wardrobe and drawers. She tried to get me to wear something pretty, but I refused anything that showed any skin at all. That ruled out roughly 99.9% of my closet; Louisiana heat made long sleeves seem a silly idea.

Eventually, we settled on a knee-length blue skirt with flowers on it, white knee-high socks to hide my legs and black ballet flats, topped with a plain white t-shirt and a lacy blue cardigan that covered my arms. It wasn't my prettiest outfit, but it did keep me covered, which was the main thing.

She retrieved my hairdryer from my bathroom and dried my hair while I sat on my bed, then added some curls to the ends. I stared into space and tried not to think of Eric.

Finally, she dragged me into the bathroom and insisted I put on mascara and lip gloss. I saw in the mirror that I looked OK, except for the too-covered-up outfit and the faraway look in my eye.

"You look great, Sook," she said, but I could hear in her thoughts that she meant _almost normal._ She was right; 'almost normal' was as close to 'great' as I'd look for a while.

I went back to the couch and sat down again while she went upstairs, showered, dressed and got ready. She came back in jeans and a t-shirt and I almost teased her, but the look on her face stopped me. Her grief was etched into her features; she had thought about Tray while she showered. It was no time to be hard on her.

"What do you want to talk to Eric about?" she asked.

"I, uh..." I trailed off. I hadn't really thought about how to put things into words, and I was suddenly thankful to have a trial run with Amelia before Eric got here. If he even came.

I sat thinking for a while, figuring out what to say. Amelia waited patiently.

"I need to make some changes in my life," I finally said. My voice was so soft and uneven that she moved closer to me. "I, uh... I can't keep pretending my life is normal. Or safe. I need to learn to take care of myself a lot better. I can't let myself be a victim ever again."

She sat next to me on the couch and put her arm around me. I flinched a little, but let her stay. I hadn't liked anyone touching me since my time with Lochlan and Neave. She waited for me to continue, and when I didn't, she finally spoke instead.

"I'm really glad to hear that, Sook," she squeezed my shoulder a little. "You've got a lot more power than you know about."

I looked at her quizzically.

"The magic I've been teaching you," she continued, "those times when you get frustrated and suddenly you can do what I was trying to teach you... each time it happens, I feel your whole energy change. It's like you have all this power and when you use it..." she trailed off again. She was having trouble explaining what she was thinking so I gave her time to think.

Five minutes later she said, "You've never once done anything the way I do, it's like you don't need all the stuff I have to use to power even really basic magic. It's like you have your own huge power source inside you and when you get frustrated enough, you can suddenly access it and things just happen. If you could just use that all the time-"

A knock on the door interrupted her and she stopped.


	2. Scars

I got up to answer the door and was stunned to see Eric. I'd been so distracted by Amelia's musings that I hadn't felt him approach through our bond. I opened it hesitantly and he swept in. He threw his arms around me and lifted me off the ground, smelling my hair as he swung me around. I flinched but didn't fight him; I was trying really hard to be OK with it.

"Lover, I'm so glad you summoned me," he greeted me huskily.

I felt an ache low in my belly just being so close to him, but I still didn't like being touched.

"Put me down," I mumbled against his chest and he complied immediately. I felt his hurt through the bond but when I looked up at him, his face didn't show it.

"It's not you," Amelia told him, reminding us she was there. "She doesn't like anyone touching her since those Goddamn fairies..."

Eric and I both turned to look at her.

_Shit, shouldn't have said that_, she thought.

"It's OK, Amelia, I guess he needs to know," I said, but I couldn't look at Eric as I continued. "I, uh, feel weird when people touch me."

"I know lover, I felt your panic through the bond."

"Well, no need for me here," Amelia concluded and walked out.

Eric and I stood silently for a moment, just looking at one another. I could feel intense curiosity flooding through the bond, like there was something he had to know. I could guess what it was and I hoped he wouldn't ask, but he did.

"I'd like to see how you're healing," he asked gently. "May I take a look?"

I didn't want him to see how ugly I was beneath my clothes but his blood might heal my scars – the physical ones, anyway – and I would give anything for that, so I gave him a small nod.

He moved behind me and started pulling my cardigan off my shoulders, trapping my arms behind me in the sleeves. In panic, I fought him and pulled it back on. I was three steps away, facing him, before I could think.

"Sorry, I can't... I can't," I whispered, looking at my feet.

"Sshh, lover, it's OK. Sshh."

He moved towards me slowly and knelt in front of me. He paused for a few moments while he sent waves of calm through the bond. Then he slowly, gently took my hand and kissed the back of it before he spoke again.

"I'll just look under this sock, OK?" he asked, his hands gently touching the top of one of my knee socks. I looked away but nodded slightly. He slid the sock down, examined my lower leg carefully, then pulled it back into place and kissed my knee softly.

I could tell he was suppressing his anger so that only his concern and tenderness came through the bond, but he slipped momentarily when he examined the worst of the scars and I felt little flashes of fury from him. He wanted to kill Lochlan and Neave all over again, slowly and much more painfully, to avenge what they did to me. A few weeks ago I hated that side of his nature, but now I was happy he felt that way. I almost wished he could do it. Their death was too quick and not nearly painful enough for my liking. I mentally admonished myself for being a bad Christian, just thinking that.

He moved his hands to the top of my other sock.

"May I look under here?"

He waited until I nodded slightly before he slid it down gently. Again, I felt his little flashes of fury as he examined the worst of the scars, but he worked hard to flood the bond with caring instead. When he was done, he pulled the sock up and kissed my knee softly.

He moved his hand to the hem of my skirt, on the right-hand side.

"May I?"

I nodded slightly. I was still looking away as he raised that side of my skirt and examined my right thigh. A bigger flash of fury came through the bond as he examined the worst scar on my leg; a red crater halfway up my inner thigh, where so much had been bitten out that even Eric's blood hadn't made all the flesh grow back. A single tear ran down my face as his finger gently outlined the scar. My body was responding to his touch but my mind was filled with fear.

When he was done he lowered my skirt, kissed my knee again and moved to the other side. He repeated his examination, even though he'd seen most of my left thigh while he looked at the right.

He stood up and cupped my face while he brushed away the tear that had escaped as he looked at the worst scar on my legs. He had never handled my body as softly and tenderly before and I was grateful for his gentleness. My mind still screamed at me to escape, but it seemed bad manners to run from someone who was being so sweet, so I stayed.

He took the hem of my t-shirt and I nodded slightly, giving him my permission to lift it and inspect my scars. I still couldn't wear a bra because the pressure they put on the half-healed wounds was unbearable, so with my t-shirt lifted as high as it would go, I was completely bare-breasted. Part of me desperately wanted him to leer at me and make suggestive comments like he would have in the past. I wanted him to desire me still, but how could he? He was never going to call my breasts beautiful ever again; they weren't any more. What he saw angered him greatly and I felt more of it through the bond than I would've liked, but he brought his feelings back under control and sent an extra wave of caring through to me as he lowered my t-shirt again. He bent and kissed my belly button softly just before he covered it.

He moved behind me and looked at my back after I nodded slightly. Afterward, while he lowered my t-shirt and cardigan he kissed my spine, just above the waistband of my skirt. He lingered a little longer than he had elsewhere and I felt his tongue slip between his lips to touch my skin momentarily. His hands rested softly on my hips and it felt wonderful, like they belonged there. A wave of pleasure ran up my spine, making me feel warm between my legs. I shook my head a little; I couldn't believe I was getting turned on by him checking my scars!

While I was distracted, he moved at vampire speed and next thing I knew, he was kneeling in front of me again. The zip of my skirt was halfway down, and it now hung low enough on my hips that he could see the rest of my belly. He hadn't asked this time, but he'd diverted my attention long enough that I was OK. He laid soft kissed on each of my scars, working across my belly and around to my butt. He went to lower my panties a little so he could see my buttocks and my hands flew down to stop him.

"Shh, it's OK, my lover," he purred reassuringly.

"It's the one place they didn't..." I stammered in reply.

He zipped my skirt back up and kissed my back again, lingering even longer this time. He then squeezed my butt cheeks very briefly before standing back up. My head was swimming; I felt equally aroused and afraid. I had no idea what to do.

Before I could get worried, he had his hands on my cardigan again, although he only touched the right side this time.

"I'll look at one arm at a time, OK?"

I nodded my assent, but looked away so I didn't have to see.

True to his word, he slid the cardigan off my right arm, inspected my scars and slid it back onto my arm. He took my hand and kissed the palm for a few seconds before he moved to my left. I looked away while he slid the other arm of my cardigan off and repeated everything, including the kiss.

"I can give you more of my blood now," he said as he lowered my hand. "It's been long enough."

"Thanks, I'd like that."

A wave of pleasure came through the bond. I looked at him and he was grinning; an actual big smile like a human would make. He really liked that I wanted his blood. He went to bite his wrist but I grabbed it before he could.

"Not yet," I insisted. "Can we talk first?"

I was overheated enough already; if I added a dose of vampire blood to the mix... well, let's just say, we wouldn't be talking.


	3. Oops!

Eric took my hand and led me to the couch. I let him sit down, but moved to the nearest armchair so I could sit facing him. It wasn't the right time to snuggle up next to one another.

"What would you like to talk about, lover?"

He was waggling his eyebrows at me. Talking clearly wasn't the only thing on his mind. _He still wants me! He still wants me!_ My heart did a little leap and I smiled. My smile only lasted a second though; I wasn't sure how this talk would go and I was nervous.

"Eric, I..." I wasn't at all confident in what I was about to say, but I remembered how I felt when I woke up that morning and it gave me the strength to continue. "I don't want to be a victim ever again. I mean, I'm not going to be a victim ever again," I summoned every ounce of confidence and certainty I could find, and managed to sound like I meant it.

He cocked his head and went to speak, but I motioned him to stop and asked him to let me finish. He nodded.

"I have a plan. I'm going to make some changes in my life so I... so no-one can hurt me like that ever again. I could use your help with some of it."

He looked genuinely pleased. Perhaps this would go better than I had hoped.

Well, really he looked very slightly pleased; vampire facial expressions were never very pronounced, unless they were exaggerating them for humans. In the beginning, I could barely spot vampires' facial expressions at all, but I was used to them now. A slight tilt at the corner of his mouth; a minute widening of his eyes; a very slight flare of his nostrils– those hints of movement were as easy for me to read as human facial expressions now.

"What do you need, lover?"

"Well, there's three things you could help me with, so I'm just going to go through them one at a time, if that's OK?"

He nodded, looking the most interested I'd seen him in a long time.

"The first thing is..." I trailed off, unsure how to phrase what I needed to say. "I'm sick of being poor and–"

"How much do you need?" he cut me off before I could finish. He was trying hard to sound casual.

"NO!" I yelled furiously. "I don't want your money, Eric. I won't be your kept woman!"

I was standing now, and so was he.

"You're my bonded," he shouted back. "Why the hell won't you let me help you?"

"I don't want that kind of help!"

"Well if you don't want my help," he was heading towards the door. Damn it! I had to do something to stop him leaving.

I remembered something Amelia had tried to teach me. I held my hand up and tried to push a wave of energy in his direction.

He slammed sideways into the wall and rolled so he was facing outwards. Then he was immobile, pinned to the wall a foot above the ground with his hands held up on either side of his head.

I crouched and put my head in my hands for a second, figuring out what to do next. When I looked up, Eric was staring at me. He seemed equal parts puzzled and pissed off. Oops.

I could hear Amelia on the stairs, running to my aid. _Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit_, she thought.

"Sookie, are you OK?" she asked as she ran into the living room. She took in the scene in front of her and the worry dropped from her shoulders. Then she laughed. I didn't know what to say, so I mutely watched her.

Eric looked back and forth between the two of us, as though staring hard enough might give him an answer. It didn't.

Amelia was still laughing when she spoke, although she was trying hard to look serious. "Sookie, what did I tell you? Have you forgotten about Bob? Self defense only, girl!"

I sighed. "Does this look like a kinky sex thing Amelia?"

I glared at her, but I wasn't very convincing. I had just realized how funny Eric looked, pinned to the wall twitching indignantly, and I was in danger of laughing too. I didn't think that would help things.

"Well, you must've really pissed her off if she's suddenly able to move around something as big as a person," she told Eric. "I can barely annoy her enough to get her throwing small rocks around."

"You did this?" Eric asked, staring at me. He didn't look angry any more. The bond was flooded with an emotion I'd never felt from him before: awe.

"Amelia's been teaching me a few things," I told him. It was an accurate enough explanation.

"You can do this?" He was looking at Amelia now, and the look on his face said, "you could be very useful."

"Oh no,_ I_ can't do that," snapped Amelia. "I've only been learning for 5 years. Us humans have to work really hard to have any telekinetic ability at all. The most powerful witches I know can't throw around a whole person."

I rolled my eyes at her; I wasn't having this discussion again. I was mostly human. If my fairy blood made it easier for me to do a few magic tricks, well, that seemed fair compensation for all the trouble it's caused me.

"So... you taught Sookie to do this, but you can't do it yourself?" Eric asked incredulously.

"Don't you dare rub it in," she shot back. She looked really pissed off for a minute, then an evil smile crossed her face. I knew exactly why, but Eric had no clue.

"Amelia..." I pleaded.

She ignored me and pulled her phone from her pocket, pointing the camera towards Eric.

I knew I had to stop her somehow, and I suddenly thought of something else she'd taught me. I reached my hand towards her and in my mind, I gave the phone a little tug. It flew across the room into my hand.

Eric's mouth dropped open, but Amelia just looked furious.

"Did you listen to me at all?" she yelled. "Self-defense only!"

"That _was_ self-defense," I insisted.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, how do you figure that?" She was challenging me, waiting for me to say something silly.

"If you got your photo to Pam, what do you think he'd do?" I glanced at Eric briefly. He was still stuck to the wall, but he'd stopped twitching. I guess he realized he wasn't going anywhere.

Amelia saw my point – she thought _OK, I get it_ – but she wasn't about to say so out loud.

"You'd get an hour or two's head start," she countered.

That wasn't true; I hadn't used her spell.

She saw the look on my face and sputtered. "How long? HOW LONG?"

"Amelia..." I really needed to calm her down before I said any more.

"Tell me!"

Amelia doesn't give up easily, so I figured it was best just to show her. I signaled her to follow me as I walked towards my old bedroom.

I opened the door and ushered her in. She looked around with a stunned expression on her face; I kept out of her head because I really didn't want to know what she was thinking.

I hadn't really done anything complicated, I just stuck some books and clothes to the wall, the same way I'd done with Eric, to see how long they'd stay there.

"How long?" she asked me quietly.

This was the part I didn't want to discuss. "Well..."

"Spit it out, Sookie," she was getting angry again.

"I was just messing around–"

"WHEN?"

"Three days ago," I whispered.

"THREE DAYS?" She was furious.

She inspected my work then, using her hands to feel the energy around the books and clothes, to read what I'd done to put them there. I lowered my shields to hear what was going on in her head; I'd learned a lot of magic just trawling through her mind over the last few days.

She was thinking, _This is self-powering. This spell keeps itself going. Holy shit, this stuff could stay here forever. She doesn't even have to do anything to keep it there. It doesn't tire her out at all. Shit! Even Octavia can't do this. Goddamn fairy blood!_

She usually tried to be happy that I was learning so quickly, but at times like these, her jealousy overwhelmed her. I didn't try to stop her as she stomped past me and out of the house.

"Fucking fairies," she muttered as she slammed the door.

Eric and I were alone again, and I had some explaining to do. Plus we still had to have that talk...


	4. Working things out

When I walked back into the living room, I took a long look at Eric, still stuck to the wall where I'd left him. He was straining against the invisible bonds holding him there, and it made his muscles flex beautifully. He looked so delicious that I contemplated keeping him there permanently.

We had to talk though.

Would it be fair to leave him pinned to the wall while I talked at him? It might be the only way we'd have a whole conversation... I silently chastised myself for even thinking that.

"Sookie, what's going on?" he asked.

I walked over to him and rested my head against his stomach. He was still completely immobilized, and I didn't feel any panic when I touched him. His feet were about a foot off the ground, so my head rested barely above his crotch. My eyes wandered downwards for a second and I felt myself get wet just looking at the bulge in his jeans. I licked my lips involuntarily.

_No_, I told myself, _not now. Must talk_.

I stepped back, raised my hand in the air and moved it down one foot, so he moved the same distance. He was still stuck to the wall, but his feet were on the ground now. I leaned back against him and lay my head on his chest. It felt so right to be near him again that some of my trauma melted away; maybe I wouldn't mind him touching me after all.

I expected him to be mad at me for using my new power on him, but when I probed our bond to check his feelings, there was no anger. Awe, pride and lust were all I felt from him.

I snapped my fingers to release his arms so he could move them, and he wrapped them around me. Restrained as he was, I didn't feel scared of him touching me, so I didn't flinch. That made me even happier. I snuggled against his hard chest while he stroked my face and hair. I felt warm all over and would've happily dragged him to the bedroom, but we still had to talk.

"Please don't go," I mumbled into his chest. "I do want your help, but I need you to listen to me first. I'll tell you exactly what I need if you'll let me. Please?" It was much easier to say it to his chest than his face.

"As you wish, lover."

I snapped my fingers again to release him completely. He bent down and kissed the top of my head.

"My fairy princess has new powers," he marveled.

I looked up into his eyes and saw little hints of wonder written all over his face. For a vampire, it was a big facial expression. He almost seemed impressed.

"You're not mad at me?" I had to ask.

"No, surprisingly, I'm not. I would be, but I'm too curious to see what else you can do now." He was being honest. He was always honest with me, and I liked it.

"You've seen most of it. I've only been learning for a week."

He looked at me wide-eyed–an expression I had never seen on his face–then took my hand and led me back to the couch.

"Shall we try having that talk again?" he asked.

"I'd like that. I'm sorry I got mad at you before. Can we try and do this without yelling or storming out? It's really important."

He chuckled and nodded. "Is there any point me trying to storm out? I didn't get far last time."

"The stuff I just did... There's three things I want to talk to you about and that's part of the second one."

"OK. The first one is something about not being poor any more. But you don't want any of my money," he almost succeeded in sounding neutral as he said it.

"Yeah, I didn't express myself very well before. I, uh, I want to ask you something," I was staring at my hands; it felt like this was the only way I could say what I needed to. "I don't think I can go back to waitressing, I just don't feel... human enough to do it any more. I've been thinking a lot about what I might do instead. I was wondering if... do you think... could I maybe make money with my telepathy? It's the only other skill I have. Would people pay me to read the minds of humans or shifters they're doing business with? I know humans don't like me much, but if I offered my services to weres and vamps... Would that even work? I think Barry was doing something like that and he seemed to be making good money... Can I even work for other vampires as your bonded or pledged or whatever I'm supposed to be now?"

He waited to be sure I was done babbling before he responded. "That could definitely work, and I'd much rather my bonded do work that reflects her value than wait on morons."

"Great!" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"What can I do to help you?"

He was respecting my request that he listen to what I wanted instead of offering what he thought I wanted, and I was thrilled. My enthusiasm started to bubble over as I replied.

"Well, I need to find clients first. Could you let some of your contacts know I'm available? Then I need to work out how much to charge. Do I need a bodyguard or anything to do this? And I have no idea how to set up a business or anything."

Again, he waited to be sure I was finished before he spoke.

"I could definitely put word out that you're available. You'd get more work than you could possibly handle though."

"Really? You think people would want to hire me? I was going to ask Alcide and Quinn to tell a few people too... would that be OK?"

He looked angry for a second, but was calm again by the time he spoke. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to make your services available to other Supes too. It would be best if I vet new clients though, just to make sure they're safe."

"I'm OK with that, as long as you don't veto all the Weres and shifters on principle."

"No, only the most devious ones."

"OK, I can handle that."

"Good. As for money, you should charge at least $10,000 a day. Maybe as high as $25,000 a day."

I was stunned. "People would really pay that much for me to read a few minds?"

"Absolutely."

"Are you sure? That sounds really high. Why would anyone pay that much?"

"I'm certain. It's not that much money to a business person, and your services can make or save them much more than your fee. Remember when you helped me find out who was stealing from me? $60,000 was already gone, and I would've happily paid $25,000 to find out who did it. I might've recovered the whole $60,000 and made your fee back right away. But even if I didn't recover any money, knowing who stole from me and stopping them would save me a lot. Possibly more than they had already taken.

"It's an easy decision, especially when much bigger sums are at stake. Any vampire entering into a big contract with humans or weres will want to hire you to make sure they're not being double-crossed. Plus you're the only one they _can_ hire, so if they want a telepath they have to pay what you charge."

"What about Barry? Isn't he a telepath-for-hire?"

"Not these days. The Queen of California is very fond of him. He's her consort now, so he doesn't work for others at all."

"Wow. I didn't know."

"As for your other question, yes, you will need a security escort to travel with you, when I'm not there. You're too valuable to leave unprotected. I could order Bill to do it if you'd like? He would die to protect you, or so he says."

"That would be good. You'd have to order him not to try to kiss me or anything though. He still tries to win me back sometimes."

"You don't want him?"

"Heck, no. We're friends now, but we'll never be more than that again, no matter how much he wants it. Some things, I can forgive but I can't forget."

He looked sad for a minute, thinking of what had happened between Bill and I in Jackson, then changed the subject.

"You'll need a daytime escort too. I'll have to think who might be good for that. A shifter, I guess, or perhaps a demon. There is another business opportunity open to you though, with a lot less risk than being a telepath-for-hire."

"Really? What is it?" I was genuinely curious.

"Your blood."

I was really puzzled. I tried to figure it out for a minute but gave up. "Huh?"

"You could sell your blood."

"Eric, I'm not gonna let vamps bite me for money!"

He looked at me like I'd just grown an extra head. "Of course not, you would extract it with a syringe."

"OK... but how would that pay better than waitressing? Everyone's got blood."

"Your blood is very valuable. You're part fairy, from the royal line no less."

"Er, how does that make it valuable?"

"We vampires _love_ fairy blood."

"Yeah, I know that."

"The most expensive blood blends on the market contain fairy blood."

"Oh. So I could sell my blood to someone who makes blood blends?"

"No, yours is too good for a blend. There are a couple of companies that sell very valuable blood, like yours, to rich vampires. We drink very fine blood on special occasions, the way that humans drink fine champagne."

Ew. "Um, why is my blood too good for a blend?"

"It's virgin."

I rolled my eyes. "You know very well I'm not a virgin. Not since I started hanging out with vampires, anyway."

"Your blood is. You've never been with a human male, unless there's something you're not telling me."

"There's not. As long as I can read their minds, there's no danger of me having sex with a human."

"So you don't taste of human male. Vampires like that. Or at least, those of us with a sophisticated palate do."

"OK." I really didn't want to think too much about that 'sophisticated palate' comment. "So how much is my blood worth?"

"More than mine."

"Really?" I was stunned. When he was cursed, Pam and I calculated that Eric would be worth at least $40,000 (conservatively) to a drainer.

"Oh yes. For blood like yours, a discerning vampire would pay at least $5,000 a cup. There's about 16 cups in your body, although I wouldn't recommend selling them all at once," he winked.

"And here I've been giving it away for free. How much could I sell?" I was pretty sure I wasn't going to sell my blood but I was still curious to know how much I could make if I did.

"A cup a week would be safe, as long as you were taking the right supplements."

"Don't they make the blood taste bad?"

"What makes your blood taste bad?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face. Well, a hint of a puzzled look; he is a vampire.

"Vitamins and stuff. Iron tablets especially. Bill said they made my blood taste bad."

"Bill what?" Eric was yelling again. He had jumped up from the couch and seemed to be looking for something to break. He wasn't even trying to block his fury from coming through the bond and my head was already starting to hurt.

"Um, Eric, didn't we agree we weren't going to yell or storm out?"

He looked furious for a second longer, then sat down, took a deep, unnecessary breath and reached for my hand.

"I'm sorry, lover, I'm not mad at you. I just hate hearing about that asshole and the things he did to you. I know he was under orders and the Queen wanted you weak and easy to control, but there was no need to harm you as much as he did."

"It wasn't really his fault Eric, I hated him feeding on anyone else so I insisted on giving him as much blood as I could."

"So you gave him too much blood so he would only feed on you, and he wouldn't let you take the nutrients you needed to sustain yourself?"

I could see he was struggling to contain his anger, so I tried to calm him by explaining.

"You know he couldn't feed on me alone, I couldn't give him anywhere near as much blood as he needed. But he fed on others as little as possible because he knew I didn't like it. And he didn't mind if I drank a couple of True Bloods sometimes when I really needed the nutrients, they didn't seem to make my blood taste funny."

He laughed, but he sounded so cold and inhuman that I was sure he wasn't really amused.

"So Bill Compton took more of your blood than he had to, fed on others to upset you, and made you drink that vile stuff if you wanted to keep your strength up. He's not clever enough to think that up by himself and it's not Sophie-Anne's style, but Andre would love a game like that. One day you will tell me how Andre died, and the story had better involve extensive torture."

His eyes were boring into me and I really didn't want to talk about Andre, so I changed the subject.

"Does that mean it's OK for me to take iron tablets if I'm, er, donating blood to someone?"

"Yes, you should take whatever supplements you need. You have to keep up your strength." He was calming down again.

"Selling my blood is an interesting idea but I don't think I could do it, Eric."

"You don't mind giving your blood away, but you wouldn't sell it?" He sounded almost stunned.

"No. I don't want to sell any part of my body, not even my blood. I'd rather give it to someone special." I gave him a meaningful look.

"If you were feeding me regularly, would you allow me to compensate you for lost income?"

"What, let you pay to feed from me? NO! I'm not some hooker you can just pay for..." It occurred to me that I was standing up and yelling at him, so I stopped. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself and sat down again. "I know I wasn't going to yell or storm out, but you really need to stop saying stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?" He was so clueless that my anger melted away. He wasn't trying to upset me; he just didn't understand why his words were so offensive to me.

"The 'kept woman' stuff. I can't be bought Eric. I'm not that kind of woman."

"I wouldn't want you if you were. I don't have to pay women to be with me. But you are my bonded, so I should take care of you. Why won't you let me?" He wasn't being funny, he really didn't know.

"Eric, it's... I'm not really sure how to explain it."

I was lost in thought for a while, trying to figure out what to say to make him understand. I was silent for so long that he went to speak, but I motioned for him to stay silent. Eventually, I hit on an idea and spoke again.

"OK, I think I know how to explain this. You remember when I asked you to make Mickey leave Tara alone?"

He nodded.

"Well, Tara got into that situation because of Franklin Mott. She didn't really find him attractive, but he was interesting and he gave her amazing gifts, like a really great car, so she dated him for a while. He knew she was with him for the gifts as much as anything else, and Lord forgive me for saying this about my friend, but that kind of made her his kept woman. So when Mickey decided he wanted her, I guess Franklin figured it was OK to pass her along. She wasn't interested in Mickey and would never choose to be with him, but she'd let Franklin buy her affections so I guess he figured she'd let anyone buy her that way.

"I know Franklin and Mickey are vampires and vamps love treating people like their property, but Gran warned me that stuff like that could happen with human males too. It's a worst-case scenario, but it does happen. So I've always been real careful not to take gifts that might come with strings attached. Being a kept woman is really only one step above prostitution and I just won't go there. I mean, a kept woman is only letting the one man pay for her affections, but she's still being paid for them."

"By 'affections', you mean sex?" he asked.

"Well, yes." I blushed. "Not just sex, but sex is definitely part of it."

"So this is about your safety. You would never let a man give you money or gifts because he might think you're a prostitute and hand you around to his friends?"

"Well... that's a really simple way to put it, but yes, that's basically it."

"I think I understand. If accepting gifts from men might make you unsafe, it is good that you don't."

"Thanks Eric, I'm glad that you get it now."

"I don't like being compared to Franklin Mott though."

"I know, I don't really think of you like that, I just... it's like an instinct. If a man tries to give me something and there's any chance they might want things in return, I refuse it."

"I suppose that is sensible, lover. But I will still convince you to let me take care of you, one day." He waggled his eyebrows at me and I laughed.

"Good luck with that," I said with a huge smile on my face.


	5. Fairy power

We smiled at one another comfortably for a minute, sitting across from one another in my living room.

"You said there are three things you want to discuss. Work is just the first?" Eric asked.

"Yes. Do you have time to stay a little longer? It's important," I replied.

"For you, always. Plus you said the second thing you would tell me about was your new fairy powers."

"That's part of it. The second thing I wanted to talk to you about is learning how to defend myself. I can't always wait for someone to rescue me. I mean, I'd like to believe I'll never _need_ rescuing again but realistically..."

"You have a knack for being wherever trouble is."

"Gee, thanks."

"Amelia is teaching you how to defend yourself?"

"Amelia's teaching me some spells I can use, but I want other training as well."

"What sort of training?"

"I want to learn how to fight, Eric. Or at least, how to defend myself against anybody who attacks me. And I need a really big favor from you to help me do that." He looked at me expectantly, so I kept going. "I think I need someone mortal to teach me, someone who's fought almost as much as you have, and someone I trust enough that I won't freeze up every time they pretend to attack me."

"You have someone in mind."

"Someone's already offered, but you really won't like who it is."

He sighed. "Tell me, lover." He was asking, not demanding.

"Quinn."

A surge of anger and jealousy came through the bond, but I could feel him bring it under control almost as soon as it started.

"You have been speaking to _him_." His voice was so cold it sent shivers down my spine, and not in a good way.

"I've spoken to him on the phone most days since... well, in the last fortnight. And I saw him a couple of days ago."

"He came here?" Eric demanded, but he wasn't standing or yelling, which was a good sign.

"No, of course not. He knows he can't. But he and Amelia organized a picnic to get me out of the house and he sent Frannie to come get us. He didn't enter your territory."

"So you went outside Area 5 to see him?" Now he was mad.

"Please, don't get jealous, Eric. Nothing happened. We're just friends now. He called to check if I was OK when he heard what happened and we got talking and... he's the only person who knows what to say to me since... well, since... you know. He's lost almost all the family he had, just like I have, and he's got even more scars on his body than I do." Eric growled a little when he heard that but I pressed on. "He's dealt with stuff that's more horrible than anything that happened to me and he's stronger for it. He's not bitter or broken, he's just strong. I need to know how he did that. Please, Eric, he's offered to teach me how to fight and I need to learn."

I was babbling and looking at my hands again. I hoped he would feel my nervousness through the bond and go easy on me.

"If you are going to see him, it would be better that you stayed in my Area. I can protect you more easily here."

I gave him a big smile. The word of the day a week ago was pragmatic and the definition described Eric perfectly; it's one of the many things I loved about him. (Yes, I finally admitted it to myself in the last two weeks.)

"So you'll let him come teach me?"

"Your safety is more important than anything else. Quinn would kill to protect you and he can be here during the day. I will probably regret this, but yes, I will work something out so he can come back into my Area to train you."

I jumped up and leapt into his lap with my arms around him. Taking charge of my life made me feel less fragile, and I suddenly knew that being with him again wouldn't break me.

"Thank you so much Eric. It means a lot to me that you would do this."

He looked surprised for a second, then wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck. I wriggled in his lap and felt him harden beneath me, as he planted a path of soft kisses across my neck that left me dizzy. His fangs ran out and he brushed them against my jugular. I was officially distracted.

I lifted his chin and claimed his mouth, kissing him in a frenzy. I needed pleasure so intense it erased some of the pain I had felt and I knew if anyone could give it to me, it was Eric. When I broke off to breathe, he put his hands on my hips and lifted me, then set me down so I was straddling him. I ground my hips against him and he moaned. I was just about to kiss him again when I remembered we had more to talk about. Darn it!

"Not yet," I whispered into his mouth. "Still more to talk about."

"Let's talk later, lover. You are much more cooperative after a few orgasms."

I knew he was completely serious, but I couldn't help laughing loudly.

"All the more reason to talk first," I insisted as I stood up and stuck out my tongue as him. He groaned but let me go. I sat back down in the armchair across from him.

"You will tell me more about your new fairy powers now?" he asked before I could start.

"There's not much to tell," I replied. "You've seen most of what I can do already."

"Most is not all. What else can you do?"

"A bolt of lightning came out of my hand once when I was really pissed off at Amelia, but it hasn't happened again since. She's also got me experimenting with my telepathy more, seeing if I can fiddle with people's brains to create different sensations. I'm getting fairly good at it, but it probably won't work on vampires so I can't show you."

"Try anyway," he asked.

I leaned towards him and concentrated hard, shaping a tight ball of energy between my hands. When it was ready, I dipped my fingertips into the ball so they hummed and glowed. I reached out and stroked his inner forearms from elbow to wrist, hoping it might work on him. It did. As soon as my fingers touched him, his head rolled back and he groaned loudly. As my fingers continued on their path, his hips started moving by themselves. By the time I reached his wrist, he was yelling in a language I didn't understand, and the stain on his jeans told me he had enjoyed himself very much.

"Well, I guess one of us will be cooperative now," I smirked.

His head snapped up and his eyes bored into me. For a second I was worried I had upset him, although I could only feel contentment, satisfaction and curiosity through the bond.

"My fairy princess, you are full of surprises," he marveled. "Telepathy, telekinesis and whatever that was too. I am impressed."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I let my manners take over. "Thanks," I managed.

"You could make any attacker change their mind with that, lover." His voice was husky again and unbridled lust was flowing through the bond. I was returning more than a little; I greatly enjoyed what I had just done. In fact, all my new powers felt oddly right; like they had always been a part of me.

"I can do it with pain too, although I don't know anyone I dislike enough to practice on. But it makes me feel horrible when I'm creating pain instead of pleasure. It's like some of the icky energy seeps back into me. But I will find a way to keep working on it. It could be really useful if anyone's hurting me; I could make all the pain flow back to them whenever they touch me." I was thinking of Lochlan and Neave as I said it. I had wished so much to be able to hurt them back when they had me, but I couldn't.

"Lover, if you need to practice, I can withstand pain. You can practice on me."

"No Eric, I can't. I couldn't hurt you. Please don't ask me to." I was getting upset just thinking about it.

"It's OK, I won't ask again. What else did you want to talk to me about? There were three things and we have discussed two."


	6. The Relationship Talk

I plucked up all my courage and looked Eric in the eye as I stated, "I want to talk about you and me, and I guess... my love life in general."

Suddenly, he looked worried and I felt actual fear through the bond, but I had to press on before I lost my nerve. My heart was hammering in my chest and I didn't know if I could do this. I was already staring at my hands again.

"I'm only going to say all this once and if you dare use any of this against me, ever, to try and make me do your bidding or whatever... well, I was going to threaten to stake you in your sleep but I can't even bring myself to give you a little jolt of pain, so it would be a really hollow threat. So... well, please just don't, OK?"

I finally glanced up and he nodded. He was terrified. I had never seen him look so scared. Sweat was running from my hands and my armpits, but he was more nervous than I was. He must have thought I was about to say something horrible. I almost stopped talking to comfort him, but I knew I had to press on. My gaze was fixed on my hands again as I fidgeted nervously.

"Just let me say all this because if you interrupt I'll lose my nerve and it's important that I say all of it."

Through the bond, I could feel that his nerves were getting worse by the second. _Ignore it Sookie, keep going_, I told myself.

"If I could pick whoever I wanted and know they would love me, care for me, be with me... I'd pick you. I never stopped having feelings for you and I think I... I, uh... I love you. I really want us to work something out so we can be together, I mean, assuming that's something you'd like too?"

I glanced up and he was beaming; actually beaming, not just showing a hint of expression like he usually did. Pure joy radiated through our bond as he nodded at me.

"OK, if there's going to be any chance this could work, I need to tell you something and I need you to not get angry at me for saying it."

Again, he nodded.

"Well..." I was even more terrified now than I had been before; I wasn't sure I'd survive saying this to him. "By human standards, the way you treat me is really disrespectful. You've been there for me almost every time I needed you, but you're so crass and demeaning the rest of the time... I've never known what to make of that and I still don't. I know I'm not perfect either, I mean, I think I've finally figured out enough vampire customs to know that I've sometimes treated you in a way that's disrespectful by vampire standards.

"So, um, if you want to be with me, you need to learn enough human customs to treat me better and I'll learn enough vampire customs to treat you well, too. Although I've got to admit, some of that stuff I'll only ever do in front of other vampires to make you look good and even then, only if I get to boss you around in private or something to make up for it because I hate feeling like anyone's property.

"You can be my lover or you can be the Sheriff who orders me around, but you can't be both. I won't have sex with my boss, I never have and I never will. If you want me, you can treat me respectfully, not like some flunky.

"But I'm not going to wait around forever for you to figure this out. I'm really sick of being lonely and us humans don't live long. You have forever but I've only got a few decades, and I'll only be young for a few years more. I want to be happy and I want someone to be happy with and I'd really like that someone to be you, but... I'm just not sure you can do this." I whispered the last part; it was too painful to say it aloud.

I paused a moment before I continued, so my voice would sound steady and even again.

"We humans have an expression: if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with. I'll wait as long as I can for you, but if that's what I have to do to be happy... well, I won't be the first human woman to do it. There's a reason we call it 'settling down.' I don't want to settle for anyone else but I've been so miserable and I can't stay unhappy like this forever so... if we can't work things out, I'll have to move on. I'm sorry." My voice cracked as I said the last few words, and tears filled my eyes by the time I finished.

"I may speak now?" he asked after a long moment had passed. I nodded. "Sookie, I... uh, I want to be with you too and I agree to all your terms, although I have a few questions."

It was a much colder response than I had hoped for–I fantasized about declarations of love on bended knee, like something from my romance novels, but real life never managed to give me those–so I just nodded. I knew if I tried to say anything, I would start crying.

His first question surprised me. "Why do you hate feeling like anyone's property? Why would it be so bad to belong to me?"

I sighed. "That's not an easy question to answer, Eric. I just do."

"But why?"

"I don't really know how to put it into words. Let me think about it."

We sat in silence for almost five minutes while I tried to figure out how to explain why I–and most human women I know–don't like being treated as though they are someone's possession. I knew possessive men were considered undesirable by almost every human woman, but I'd never really wondered why. Eventually, I figured it out.

"OK, I think I know how to explain this now. It's weird, the more I think about it, the more I think that being a vampire should make it easier for you to understand this, not harder."

"Explain."

"Well, vampires didn't have any rights at all until recently. You didn't officially exist, so there were lots of things that humans take for granted that you weren't allowed to do, and if a human decided to kill you, they wouldn't face any of the penalties that humans set out for murder. You have a lot more rights than you did a while ago but you're still not treated as equal to humans–and if the Fellowship got their way, even the rights you have now would be taken away."

"I know all that. What do vampire rights have to do with you not wanting to be anyone's property?" He sounded bored and annoyed; he wasn't a fan of the vampire rights movement.

"Well, human women didn't have many rights until a hundred or so years ago. You remember all that, don't you?"

"Of course."

"So you know that women were someone's property then, they were owned by their father and then their husband. They couldn't vote or own a house themselves; they only went to school if their father thought it was a good idea and most men didn't. Whatever their father or husband decided to do to them physically, they had to put up with. A husband couldn't rape his wife as far as the law was concerned because she had no right to refuse him, and killing badly-behaved women was considered OK in most places."

"Yes, I remember all that."

"My Gran told me how much things changed, just in her lifetime. She knew women who were sent to mental hospitals and had their brains cut up or electrocuted because their husband didn't like the way they behaved. She knew women who were married to abusive men and couldn't get a divorce, no matter what their husband did to them. Or if they could leave, most jobs weren't open to them and the ones that were paid them one-third as much money as men to do exactly the same job. Even today, in other countries, women who've been raped are sometimes killed by their own father or husband for dishonoring their family because they're not 'pure' any more." I was emotional and shaky by the time I said that.

"So this is a women's rights thing?" he puzzled.

"Well, only inasmuch as I'm a woman and I like having the right to control my own life. I wouldn't give that up for any man, Eric, no matter how much I cared about him. I'm really grateful to all those women who challenged the tradition that women's lives were controlled by men, because I like having my independence. I don't want to go back to a time when women didn't have those rights."

"You believe it is your right to decide what you do with your life."

"It is my right, and I won't let anyone take that away from me. I know vampires are used to treating humans as house pets, but I won't accept that. If you want to be with me, you have to treat me with more respect."

"It is disrespectful that I think it beneath you to spend your life serving drunken morons for money?"

"It's disrespectful that you think you're better qualified to decide what I do with my life than I am."

"So this is a way I disrespect you? It is disrespectful to tell a human woman that her job is beneath her?" he asked incredulously.

"It's disrespectful to tell a woman what she can and can't do. You've told me to quit my job, leave my home, get rid of my car, and ditch all of my male friends because it would suit you better if I did. If you respected me to make my own life decisions, you would find out what each of those things meant to me before you told me to give them up."

"But your job is menial, your home is in disrepair, your car is only fit for the scrapyard and your male friends all want to have sex with you, even though you are mine. It is simply the truth."

I sighed in frustration. I wasn't getting through to him at all. I had to try something else.

"Eric, how would you feel if I said that sitting on your throne 'enthralling the vermin' each night was beneath you?"

"You should not insult my business, it makes a lot of money," he snapped.

"I'm not insulting your business, I'm just making the point that you wouldn't like it if I did. I could argue that it's simply the truth, that you exhibiting yourself to drunken morons is just as bad as me serving them. Wouldn't it be disrespectful if I said things like that to you?"

"It would be very disrespectful. I would not put up with it." He muttered angrily. Then he looked like a light bulb had just gone off in his head. "OK, I understand. I will not insult your work, your home or your car any more."

"Thank you," I said as graciously as I could. I noticed that he hadn't mentioned my friends, but I knew I could get to that later.

"How else do I disrespect you?" he asked, looking curious.

I was suddenly nervous again, but there was something I had to say. I stared at my hands again.

"Well, when you don't call or text or visit me for ages and then just turn up to have sex with me, I'm happy to see you, but afterward it feels like it was just a booty call."

He looked perplexed.

"What is a booty call?" he asked, as Amelia's car pulled up by the door.

I found her timing ironic.

"Now here's the person you should ask about booty calls," I muttered as Amelia walked up to the door. She was a lot more adventurous than I was, and I'd caught some very saucy stuff in her thoughts from time to time.

"Amelia, what is a booty call?" Eric asked as she walked in the door.


	7. Booty call

"Amelia, what is a booty call?" Eric asked as she walked in the door.

She responded by laughing explosively. "Like you don't know, Mr Player."

I was mortified. "Eric, I didn't mean you should actually ask her! That was sarcasm."

"Oh no, this is priceless, Sook." Amelia sounded far too happy for my liking. "Eric asking what a booty call is? Pam will LOVE this!"

She sat down in one of the other armchairs in our living room and made herself comfortable. I put my head in my hands.

"So, this term 'booty call,' what does it mean?" Eric asked her. "It is a bad thing?"

Well, at least he was ignoring Amelia's comment about telling Pam. That was something to be thankful for.

"No, booty calls are great! Depending on who's doing the calling, of course," she replied.

"But Sookie was unhappy when she mentioned it?"

"Well duh. Sookie doesn't do casual sex," she rolled her eyes.

"So a booty call is casual sex?"

"Yeah, it's when you call someone or just show up at someone's place late at night to have sex with them because you're feeling horny. It's all no-strings-attached, you don't have to put up with any relationship crap, you just get your sex and go again. It's way, way better than getting into a relationship with someone you're not that into, just to keep getting some nookie, if you know what I mean." Amelia sometimes didn't know when to shut up.

Eric knelt down in front of me, cupped my chin and gently lifted my head from my hands 'til I was looking him in the eye.

"Sookie, you think I only want you for casual sex," he sounded hurt.

I didn't know what to say, and for once I was pleased when Amelia cut in.

"Well of course she does, Mr Player. It's not like you're dating or anything. She doesn't hear from you for months and then you show up, say all the right thing, have sex with her, then disappear again. And she's so naive about this stuff that she doesn't even realize what a player you are!

"You can say what you want about the blood bond and saving each other's lives a few times and whatever else, but it really just looks like a casual thing to me. Nothing wrong with that, but it would've been real nice of you to tell her that was all you wanted before she got all sappy about you. I'm so sick of seeing her mope over you, or try not to mope over you, or get all conflicted about other men who treat her better and want to be with her because she'd rather be with you."

Eric stared straight into my eyes, as though he could see whether her words were true just by looking at me, while Amelia kept talking and talking.

"If you're not going to bother having an actual relationship with her, you could at least stop telling her she's yours so she could go be with one of the men who want all of her, not just an occasional fuck. That Quinn would make her totally happy, they're equally sappy and faithful and all that. He'd spend every moment of his life making puppy dog eyes at her if he got–"

When she mentioned Quinn, Eric's demeanor changed completely. He let out a low growl, let go of me and turned toward Amelia, staring at her like he was going to rip her limbs off. She had the sense to stop talking then.

He calmed himself again and looked puzzled for a moment, as though he wasn't sure what to ask first, before speaking again.

"You keep calling me Mr Player. What does that mean?"

"It means you're really good at getting women to throw themselves at you. You know just what to say and do to get them out of their panties and sliding all over you in no time. It means that you got that way through lots and lots of, well, let's just call it 'practice.' It also means that you really like to make use of your talents every chance you get."

"That is true," he responded nonchalantly, as though it were mere statement of fact and not something that puffed his ego up at all–but I could tell through the bond that he liked to hear it very much. "Although my charms do not work on Sookie," he added sheepishly, a few moments later.

Amelia laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Sure, because Sookie lets so many men come over for casual sex."

I knew I had to jump in before Eric took her seriously and got mad. "She's being sarcastic, Eric. Nobody else comes over for sex, casual or otherwise," I insisted.

"I know," he replied gently. "You love me." He smiled and stroked my face.

"Ohmigod!" Amelia exclaimed, leaping out of her chair. "You said it! You finally worked up the nerve to say it! That's great, Sook!"

Amelia had been hassling me about this for months. Once she saw the way Eric and I looked at each other, she had become convinced we were in love with one another, but each too stubborn to say anything. She interrogated me until she knew our entire history, using wine to get the juicier details out of me. I tried explaining to her that Eric couldn't love me because he's a vampire, but she wouldn't hear of it. In Amelia's mind, if one of us found the courage to admit our feelings, the other would respond in kind. She had Pam working on Eric, trying to convince him to say something, while she took up the matter with me, so many times she had me more-or-less believing her. She had made it sound so simple.

The look on my face must've made it clear that it hadn't gone according to her plans, because she stared at me for a few seconds, then tapped her head. I lowered my shields so I could hear her thoughts.

_He didn't say it back, did he? _she projected loudly.

I shook my head just a little in response.

_I'm so sorry._ She sat on the arm of my chair and hugged me. _He's a moron. You don't need a player like him, there are so many other men who would romance you to death. At least you know now so you can move on._

"At least I know now," I repeated under my breath.

She squeezed me harder in response.

"It's OK, Amelia. We need to talk about some things alone," I told her.

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted." She got up and walked out, leaving Eric and I alone.

As soon as her door closed upstairs, he spoke.

"Amelia was right, wasn't she? You think I just want you for sex, that I don't want anything else from you?" he asked shakily.

"Eric, I don't know what to think. If a human male behaved the way you do, I would know they wanted something very casual and purely physical with me; I would know I was free to move on if I met someone who was serious about me. But you're not human, so I don't know what to think," I admitted.

"That is what you mean when you say I am disrespectful to you by human standards?"

"Yes, that's a lot of it."

"And if I want to be with you, I have to behave differently?"

I nodded.

"What do I need to do? What do you want?"

"There's only really three things I want, Eric. I just want to be with someone who loves me, who has time to be with me, and who treats me with respect. I mean, I'd really like it if someone put me first in their life, but I don't think I'll ever get that, so I think the other three are my bare minimum. I don't think I'll be happy with less than that. If you don't love me, or you can't make time for me, or you won't lower yourself to treating a lowly human with respect, please just tell me so I can move on. Please?"

I watched his face as he took that in. It seemed like he understood it, and my heart leapt. Maybe he just hadn't known what to do; it's not like he's had a human girlfriend recently. Maybe all I needed to do was tell him. Maybe things would be different now...

"You do not like it when I go away," he stated.

"No, I don't," I agreed. He was on the right track!

"Then you will be mad with me." He paused but I didn't interrupt. "I have to go away for a while."

He was wrong: I wasn't mad, I was distraught. My hope for a real relationship with him had just been crushed. I had told him I loved him and wanted to be with him; he didn't say he loved me and now he's leaving, too. I guess that gives me my answer: things aren't going to work out between us. He was always going to be the Vampire Sheriff who was too important to spend time with a lowly barmaid. In that moment, my heart broke.

I couldn't bring myself to show him how hurt I was, so I pushed down my feelings and remembered my manners.

"When do you leave?" I asked.

"Three night's time."

"When will you be back?"

"I should be back in Shreveport in a couple of weeks, but it might be many months before I can see you again."

I didn't know exactly what to make of that, but it sounded a lot like he was leaving me. I didn't want to believe it, but what other explanation was there? It suddenly seemed even more significant that he hadn't said he loved me.

"Why are you leaving, Eric?" I whispered.

"It is better that you don't know," he replied gently. "I would like to be with you as much as possible before I go. I would like to stay here and make you happy for the next three nights. May I?"

I wish I could say I had to think about it; that I had too much self-respect to sleep with someone who just let me know that he doesn't love me and he's leaving me. I don't. I jumped at the chance to spend three nights in a row with him. I loved him and I wanted to be with him; if I only got three more nights with him, I'd make them good. I could think about him leaving when it happened, 'til then I'd take whatever happiness I could get.

"OK," I smiled.


	8. The tease

Eric was still kneeling in front of me so I leaned forward and kissed him.

He picked me up and carried me into my bedroom, where he lay me down gently. He sat on the edge of the bed beside me.

"You will take my blood now?" he asked.

I nodded.

He went to bite his wrist but I shook my head and he stopped. I sat up and knelt behind him, then pulled his t-shirt over his head. His smooth, muscular chest was completely exposed and I took a few moments to rub my hands all over his front, re-familiarizing myself with body. He was so cool to my touch that I shivered a little as I pressed my chest against his back.

I wriggled in as close to him as I could, with my knees on either side of his ass and my hands holding his chest tightly. I licked his neck, following the length of his jugular up and down, then nibbled at the spot where his neck joins his shoulder.

"Sookie," he moaned, his hands massaging my knees.

I rubbed the palms of my hands against his nipples for a few moments and they stiffened to my touch. He threw his head back and sighed. I smiled at his reaction, then sunk my teeth into his neck as hard as I could. As his blood reached my tongue, I pressed myself against him harder and latched onto the wound. His blood tasted rich, dark and wonderful. A wave of lust hit me as it flowed into my mouth, and I could feel through the bond that he felt the same. I wanted to devour him and suck him dry, but after three small mouthfuls, the wound had already healed. I whimpered in protest and he gently removed my hands from his chest.

Moving at vampire speed, he was back less than a second later with my sharpest kitchen knife in his hand. I felt a surge of fear at the sight of the knife, my heart pounding and hands sweating, but I was able to breath through it and numb myself.

"Lover, you need more." He pretended he didn't notice my fear, but I felt him sending waves of calm to me through the bond.

He sat back down and gave me a few moments to settle down, stroking my knee. When he felt my previous mood returning, he went to cut his neck for me.

At the last second, I took his hand and guided it towards his right nipple instead. He chuckled as he made a deep cut directly above it and a drop of blood lazily trickled onto his nipple. My mouth watered and I forgot about being scared. I pushed him back onto the bed and licked up the drop of blood, then sucked hard on the cut he had made. His blood tasted even better than it had a minute ago and I forgot all my hesitancy. I don't know when I had come to enjoy the blood exchanges so much – I found them so gross at first – but they held an incredible erotic charge for me now. The things that had happened to me a fortnight ago suddenly didn't matter, I just wanted him. Now.

I swung my leg over him, so I was straddling him while I fed. He was already rock hard and I ground myself down against him. His chest rumbled beneath me in a low growl. He grabbed my hips and rocked them back and forth, making me moan loudly. I drew from him one last time as the blood flow stopped. I licked his nipple clean, then looked up at him. I knew I had his blood on my mouth and that seeing it would drive him wild.

I looked him right in the eye as I licked my lips, and he responded by flipping us over so he was on top of me. He licked the last of his blood from my mouth, then kissed me deeply, his fangs scraping my bottom lip but not quite drawing blood. I grabbed his ass and tried to push him against me but he resisted.

"No lover, let's take this slow," he purred in my ear.

I groaned in frustration. "Please Eric," I begged as I tried to un-button his jeans.

He kissed me again, more forcefully now, but kept the pace slow. He moved his knees outside mine and pushed my legs together, stopping me from grinding against him. I groaned again and fumbled with his jeans button some more. I wanted him naked and inside me right away, but he was intent on teasing me. He slid my cardigan off my shoulders, and I moved my arms above my head to help him take it off, but he pushed it only as high as my elbows and left it there.

While my arms were occupied with the half-removed cardigan, he ran his hands up and down my body slowly, caressing me all over. I kicked my shoes off while I struggled to free my arms. He started raining soft kisses over my neck and ears, driving me slowly mad. I felt like I would die if he didn't fuck me immediately, and when I finally got my arms free, I tried a different approach. Instead of fumbling with his button again, I grabbed the hem of my t-shirt and pulled it up, pushing his face back a little so I could pull it off entirely.

He was distracted for a minute by the sight of my bare breasts. "So beautiful," he murmured, and I used the distraction to unbutton his jeans and free his gracious plenty. I rubbed my fingers over the tip, then brought them to my mouth to taste the moisture on them. "Mmm," I moaned as I looked at him. His eyes went dark with lust and he looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive, but he still seemed determined to take things slow.

He bent forward and kissed my collarbones one at a time, then slowly moved down, kissing every inch of exposed skin. When he finally reached my breasts, I arched my back, desperate for more contact. He planted a lingering kiss on each nipple, using his tongue a little, then kept moving downwards. As he kissed his way down my stomach, I gently rubbed my own nipples.

He finally reached behind me to unzip my skirt and slid it and my panties down my hips, leaving me naked but for my knee socks. I was too turned on to care that I was still wearing them. _At last,_ I thought. I was really looking forward to having him inside me. He was standing beside the bed looking down at me and I brought my feet up onto the bed and opened my knees as wide as I could, so he could see exactly how wet and ready I was.

"Please Eric," I whimpered. "Now."

He chuckled. "Patience, lover."

He slid me further up the bed and climbed up so he was kneeling between my legs. He trailed his fingers up and down my inner thighs while I moaned loudly. I was rubbing my nipples again, arching my back and thrashing my head from side to side. Could he not see that I was ready?

"Please," I begged again. "Please fuck me, Eric. Please?"

Talking dirty usually got me whatever I wanted, but this time, he ignored me and kept to his own tortuously slow pace. He planted a soft kiss on the inside of my right knee and started slowly kissing his way upward. When he got to my moist curls, I thought, _Finally!_ and thrust my hips towards him. He ignored me and moved to my left knee instead. I groaned with frustration and moved my hand down to stimulate myself. He watched me for a few moments, his eyes burning with lust, and I thought he would finally let me come. He didn't. After about thirty seconds, when I could feel my orgasm starting to build, he took my hand, licked my juices from my fingers and placed it back by my side. I started pinching my nipples hard, desperate for whatever stimulation I could get.

He kissed his way up from my left knee again and finally reached my pussy. This time, he gently stroked my outer lips a few times before he parted them and started licking me, so softly I could barely feel it. He licked up and down my outer lips, then up and down my inner lips, then stuck his tongue inside me. My hips bucked and I pressed myself against him as hard as I could. He chuckled again, as he slid his tongue in and out of me a few times. It felt amazing, but I wanted more and I knew he was just teasing me. I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him up to my swollen nub.

"My, aren't we in a hurry," he gently admonished me.

"Please, Eric," I panted. "Please make me come."

"All in good time," he replied, chuckling. He was really enjoying teasing me, and I was getting sick of it.

I guess he realized he had pushed me as far as he should, because without any warning, he brought his mouth to my clit and sucked hard. I cried out in surprise, but it quickly turned into a delighted moan. I bucked my hips against his mouth as I felt my climax build quickly. He slid one finger inside me, then two, and moved them in and out in perfect rhythm. I threw my head back and kneaded my breasts gently, inching closer and closer to my release.

"Mmm, so good, so good, so good," I chanted as I neared completion. "Oh, Eric. So close."

He was flicking me with his tongue while he sucked and fingered me. The sensation was incredible. I made a series of incoherent sounds as I got closer and closer. I was dangling at the edge of the precipice, just waiting for that tiny bit of extra stimulation to push me over the edge into oblivion. I let out a long moan and was just about to explode when he did the worst thing he possibly could: he stopped. He withdrew his fingers and removed his mouth while I stared at him in shock.

"Wha-? Why? No, please," I stammered.

He just grinned at me. "Something you wanted, lover?" he purred.

"Cruel vampire," I pouted. "So mean to me."

"Now now, say that again and you won't get anything," he teased.

He spread my legs even wider and started rubbing his tip against me, sliding it up and down my wetness without entering me. Every time he got to my opening, I tried to push myself onto him, desperate to have him inside me, but he pulled back instead. I was so angry I was about to slap him when he finally slid an inch or two into me.

"Yes," I hissed, as my back arched in encouragement.

"You like this, lover?" he asked innocently.

"Yes yes more," I begged.

He pulled back a little, then slipped in an inch further.

"This much?" he teased.

"More," I moaned.

He pulled back out, then slowly slid another inch in. Before he could ask, I moaned "more" and grabbed his hips to push him further into me. He chuckled loudly and went along with it, sliding in and out of me slowly, giving me a little more with each thrust. "More more more," I demanded. My long-delayed climax was starting to build again, and I was really looking forward to it. He pulled my legs up over his shoulders so he was even deeper inside me and started stroking my clit with his thumb. In under a minute, I was back on the edge, ready to explode at any second.

"So close so close," I chanted and he smiled at me deviously.

I didn't think he would be cruel enough to stop at the very last moment a second time, but he was. He pulled out of me and sucked my juices from his thumb. Tears of frustration ran down my face as he cast a triumphant look my way.

"Something you wanted, lover?" he teased.

I was enraged beyond words. I couldn't understand why he was being so cruel to me, but I knew I wasn't going to put up with it. I sat up and started to slide off the bed; I knew I could finish myself off in about a minute, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of watching, so I was heading to the bathroom. He slid his arm round my waist and held me firm, refusing to let me go. I glared at him and he chuckled again. He was really, really enjoying himself at my expense.

"No need to run away, lover," he purred in my ear. "I will let you come... eventually."

I slapped him as hard as I could, then threw him back onto the bed, using my fairy powers to move him to the center of the bed and keep him there. I climbed on top of him, slid him inside me and started moving up and down. I was so mad I didn't want to look at him, so I closed my eyes tightly and threw my head back so he couldn't see my face. He loved to watch my face as I came, so this was his punishment for teasing me. I slid up and down, enjoying the feel of him inside me. I could hear him moaning loudly, but I didn't care; my need had overtaken everything else and I scratched my itch with utter abandon.

My pleasure started building but I knew I would need more to take me over the edge, so I held my hands out and snapped my fingers to bring his hands to mine. I guided one of his hands to my breasts and placed the other on my hip, where his thumb could easily reach my clit. He pinched and pulled while he rubbed and stroked, and I sighed in ecstasy. I rode him fast and hard, taking all the pleasure his body had to give me. This time, he wouldn't deny me what I needed.

I rode a wave of pleasure that took me to the very top and I threw my head back, screaming my release as my body spasmed around him, but it wasn't over yet. My itch had finally been scratched, but I still needed more. I kept going and a minute later, a second wave of pleasure rolled right over the first, making me whimper in delight. I rode on through it, slowing my pace a little to savor the sensations of him sliding in and out of me, drawing circles around my nub while he twisted one nipple, then the other.

When the spasms subsided, I could feel a third orgasm well within reach. Wow, that was new. I slowly teased it from my body, and miraculously, his hands matched my pace exactly. As it finally hit, my whole body trembled and my breath escaped my body in sobs. My hands moved down to his hips on their own and I was faintly aware of him bucking and roaring beneath me as my whole body exploded with pleasure, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered but my release.

When it finished, I fell forward, completely spent. I clung to Eric's chest and he wrapped his arms around me tightly. Sated and content, I began to drift off to sleep.


	9. Meat

"Lover, can I move now?" Eric murmured.

It took me a few seconds to realize what he meant, but when I did, I sat bolt upright and my hands flew over my mouth. I had been holding him down using my new fairy powers, while I took my pleasure with basically no regard for his feelings.

"Ohmigod, I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "I didn't mean to..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

I snapped my fingers and he could move again. He sat up, wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"Lover, what's wrong? Why are you upset?"

"Didn't I just...? I mean, I held you down and just took what I wanted and I didn't even care if you liked it. That's..." I couldn't say the word. I was close to tears.

It took him a few seconds to realize what I meant; then the puzzlement I felt through the bond turned to understanding and he burst out laughing.

"You think I _mind_ that you held me down and fucked me senseless? I loved it," he said as he kissed me again.

"But if you just held me down and took what you wanted..." I trailed off again, still feeling like I'd done something wrong.

"I know, my lover, and I would never do that. I know how much it would hurt you, after all you've been through. But I don't feel the same way about being used for sex that you do. Besides, I deliberately teased you until you lost control, I knew what I was doing. I didn't factor your new fairy powers into my plans, but it was a very pleasant surprise to just lie back and enjoy the show."

He was grinning like a cat with a saucer of cream, and I was starting to believe that I hadn't hurt him.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Lover, you really don't know much about men, do you?"

He looked at me and I shook my head, because right now, I was pretty sure that I didn't.

"I'll let you in on a poorly guarded secret: most of us, human or vampire or whatever else, don't mind being used for sex. We really like it, actually. Being jumped by an attractive woman is almost the holy grail for us. I heard a poem once, that started

_You came to me this morning and you handled me like meat.  
You'd have to be a man to know how good that feels, how sweet.*  
_

"Truer words were never spoken, really. Every man who hears that knows that the woman it was written for... well, even if he doesn't love her, he's certainly obsessed with her. Because it does feel wonderful to be handled like meat," he flashed a wolfish grin at me. "So no, I don't mind."

"You really are OK?" I was finally calming down but I still had to ask one last time.

"I'm more than OK, I'm great. Any time you want to do that – any time at all – go right ahead. Especially if you throw in that trick you did at the end."

"What trick? I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing. I was a little distracted," I blushed.

"Oh, lover, you really were enjoying yourself, to do that without noticing," he murmured huskily. "You gave me a big jolt of pleasure about ten seconds after I came, to keep me going just a little longer, and I got off a second time right away. Having two orgasms in a row like that was a real novelty. It was quite a treat, actually."

I was feeling relaxed and happy again, and he'd raised a subject I'd been wondering about, so I took the chance to ask him.

"Is that because I don't do it right? I mean, you give me lots of orgasms, usually, and you only get two or three? Is there something I should be doing different? I know I'm not very experienced, so I don't mind if you need to give me some pointers."

"No, lover, you're doing great. Just the downside of being male, a woman can come many more times than a man can. Although if you really feel bad about it, I don't mind if you use your new fairy power to keep the score even from now on." He waggled his eyebrows as he said it and I laughed.

I shivered a little and next thing I knew, we were both under the covers, snuggling. It was so perfect being close to him that I tucked my head against his shoulder and dozed right off. I'd had trouble sleeping most nights since the Fairy War, but I felt like everything was right lying there in his arms, and I fell asleep with a big smile on my face.

*Leonard Cohen


	10. Nightmares

I'd been sleeping peacefully in Eric's arms for only an hour when the nightmares started. I had fallen asleep with no problems, snuggled next to him, and had hoped for a full night's rest, but clearly it took more than that to make my nightmares go away.

In my mind, I was back in the hut with Lochlan and Neave. My throat was hoarse from screaming and my entire body hurt. They were calling me froggy.

"Croak, froggy, croak," they taunted.

I was sitting bolt upright, screaming my head off and trying to break free with all my strength. As I began to wake, my screams became more coherent and words started to form: first "NO!" and "STOP!", then "HELP!" and "LET ME GO!" as I struggled to free myself from Eric's embrace. He pulled me in closer, stroking my arm gently.

"Lover, shh, it's OK. You're safe. I'm here, you're safe," he murmured.

"Eric?" I asked, looking in his eyes, still half asleep. "You came to rescue me!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms around him. "I knew you would. You're here."

I snuggled in closer and started to drift off to sleep again, when I heard the familiar knock on my door. I woke immediately to answer it. Eric was already starting to get up and head for the door.

"I'll get it," I insisted groggily.

He turned and curled his index fingers in front of his mouth like fangs, to tell me it was a vampire at the door.

"It's just Bill. He's heard me yelling in my sleep again."

He looked shocked and sat back down on the bed. I pulled on my robe and went out to the door.

"Hi Bill," I greeted as I opened it, "nothing to worry about, just the usual nightmares. Thanks for coming to check on me though."

"Nice socks," he smiled.

Oh no! I was still wearing those darn knee socks. I blushed bright red and a look of realization moved across Bill's face. He sniffed the air and sighed.

"I smell Eric all over you," he said coolly. "I shouldn't have intruded."

"It's OK," I maintained. "You didn't know he'd be here tonight."

"But you are OK? You don't need to talk about it?"

"No, it was one of the easy ones, I'm feeling better already."

"I could tell by the screaming," he replied, and we both grinned at the private joke. It was true, the easier nightmares were the ones where I woke screaming; the ones where I was frozen in terror and couldn't wake were far worse.

Eric wandered in then with a towel wrapped around his waist and lazily stretched his arm around me.

"Come back to bed, lover," he murmured huskily, nuzzling my hair. He was marking his territory, like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant. I smiled at the comparison.

"Eric, Bill came to check on me every single time I woke screaming, just to make sure I'm OK. Be polite," I admonished him.

"You wake up like this a lot?" he demanded, his eyes drilling into me. I wasn't really sure what to tell him.

"Only three or four times a night, now," Bill informed him. "I hear the screaming from my place."

"It was happening more?" Eric asked him, not bothering to include me in the conversation.

"A dozen times some nights at the start. She's getting much better. But that's only the screaming nightmares, the ones where she can't wake up are worse."

"She's standing right here and can speak for herself," I interrupted, stamping my foot for emphasis.

"You didn't tell me about this. Neither of you told me about this," Eric complained.

"Sookie made me promise," Bill muttered to his feet.

Eric stared at me, waiting for my explanation.

"I didn't want to bother you, Eric. I figured you were busy with important vampire stuff and Bill was right next door when I needed someone to talk to."

"You didn't feel her panic through the bond?" Bill asked him.

Eric flinched for a moment, then his game face snapped into place as he closed the door in Bill's face. "You aren't needed here, Compton," he said coldly.

Bill lingered for a few seconds, even though Eric just ordered him to leave.

"You will stay with her until dawn?" he called through the door.

"Yes. Leave." Eric replied.

With that, Bill disappeared from my porch. Eric and I wandered back to my bedroom.

"There was no need to be so rude," I complained as we walked through the hall.

"You are my bonded. You should have told me about this," he fumed.

"Right, how exactly? It's not like I could call Fangtasia a dozen times a night to say, 'I had a nightmare, send the _Master_ to hold my hand'." I put sarcastic emphasis on the word 'Master'.

"I would have come if you summoned me." He was sad that I hadn't.

I pulled off the socks and we slid back into bed together, sitting next to one another against the headboard.

"Eric, I'm not going to ask you to come all the way here from Shreveport every time I have a nightmare. They're a normal human reaction to anything traumatic. I had them for a while after my Gran died, too. And after Dallas, and Jackson, and Rhodes. They'll stop by themselves once I work out how to deal with things. They're already much less frequent."

"So you would rather Bill help you with this?" he accused me.

"No, but you weren't here," I whispered. I stared at my hands while I continued. "I told you how I feel only a few hours ago, it's up to you what you do now. But you've never made a habit of being here in the past, and I'm not sure that's something I should ever expect from you. I think if I did expect that from you, I'd just end up being disappointed a lot."

He put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, but he didn't comment. I knew he didn't often talk about his feelings, but I would've loved some clues.

Then something clicked. I pulled back to look him in the eye.

"Eric, you flinched before. When Bill asked if you felt my panic through the bond, you flinched. Why?"

He sighed. "I did feel it. I made it halfway here the first dozen or so times, but you always calmed down before I could get to you. I realized they were just dreams so I stopped coming. Pam found it hysterical, me rushing out of the club to go to you, then coming back half an hour later. She said I always looked like a sheep when I returned."

"Like a sheep?" I asked incredulously. "Oh, you mean sheepish!"

"Yes, sheepish."

I laughed a little. I couldn't figure out which was funnier: Eric looking sheepish, or Pam telling him so.

"I'm glad this amuses you," he said coldly. Then he added softly, "I didn't know your nightmares were so bad. I would have come if I had known. I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"Hey, you ain't seen nothing yet," I teased, trying to make light of the situation. "Those are the easy nightmares."

"Yes, Bill said you have other nightmares that are worse," he replied gravely. "You will tell me about them."

I sighed. "Eric, I really don't like talking about this."

"You told Bill all about it."

"Yes, but only because he was here when I needed to talk."

He looked so hurt that I realized I would have to continue.

"OK, OK. I have two kinds of nightmares. The ones where I wake up screaming, they're the easy ones. The ones where I'm frozen and I can't wake myself up, they're the bad ones. After a few nights of them, I was too scared to sleep. I sat up drinking coffee all night a couple times, but Bill figured out what I was doing. He hung around my house at nights for about a week – don't get mad, nothing happened, he just came in to wake me when I was stuck in one of those nightmares. I haven't been having as many of them lately and I can sometimes wake myself from them now. I think they're some fairy thing, they only started after Niall visited me."

"How do you know they're a fairy thing?"

"Well the nightmares where I scream, in them I'm just re-living what Lochlan and Neave did. Or occasionally other things, like the time I got staked, or when I got shot, or Mickey, or when that maenad scratched me, or rescuing Bill, or the night of the takeover, or Rhodes, or rescuing you and Felipe that time. You know, all my own worst nightmares."

He looked at me with the saddest expression I had ever seen on his face, and stroked my face with his thumb, picking up the couple of stray tears that had escaped while I talked about all the things I had been through. After a moment, I kept talking.

"But the other nightmares... the stuff in them is really, really horrible. I don't think my mind could just make that stuff up, it has to be coming from somewhere. Or at least, I hope there's nothing that evil in me. It's so terrible, and the worst part is, in those ones, I'm not the victim. I'm... I'm the one doing it. Maybe I just hope they're a fairy thing because I... I hope humans couldn't even think those things."

I was gasping for breath and it took me a second to realize why: I was crying so hard my nose was completely blocked. I reached for the box of tissues on my nightstand and blew my nose loudly.

"You never used to keep tissues there," he observed sadly. "These are for your nightmares?"

I nodded as I wiped my eyes. Eric seemed to be lost in thought.

"What sort of things happen in those nightmares? Do you kill things?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Animals or people?"

"Both."

"And it is not quick. You torture them or pull them apart as you kill them?"

I sobbed and nodded.

"Do you ever eat them? I mean, while they are still alive?"

I sobbed and nodded again.

"And in those dreams, is the killing... sexually arousing?"

I stared at him wide-eyed. "How did you know that?"

"I'm just going through all the things I know fairies do, that would upset you this much if you saw them."

"Oh," I gasped. "Fairies... they do all that?"

"Some do. It is part of their magic."

"I... I've also had dreams where... where I was using the weather to kill people. Using the sea to capsize boats and drown people, or sending tornadoes through towns, or creating floods by bursting dams, or making landslides bury people alive, or making earthquakes knock buildings over."

"That sounds exactly like fairies," he chuckled.

"I don't find it funny, Eric."

"So you have all these new fairy powers at the same time as you're having nightmares about things fairies do," he stated.

Suddenly, I twigged. "Yes! But the more I've been able to use the new fairy powers, the fewer of those dreams I've had. And I'm starting to be able to control them, to wake up from them or to stop doing those horrible things."

"That's a really good sign."

"Why?"

"If you can control the dreams, it's less likely your fairy nature will end up controlling you."

"Controlling me?" I puzzled. "Like... I might actually end up doing that stuff?" I whispered.

"No, if you can control the dreams, it's unlikely they'll take you over."

"I guess that's good," I wavered.

"So the dreams and your new powers all started after Niall visited?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Did he do anything while he was here? Anything that might cause this?"

"Not that I know of. Although when he kissed me goodbye, I think he might've done something then."

"What do you think he did?"

"I don't know, but I felt real good afterward. I think he healed me as much as he could, but I also felt the happiest I had for a long time, like I suddenly knew things would work out."

"Interesting. And now you want to learn to fight. You are being braver and more aggressive about getting what you want," he grinned, "and you say you feel less human now?"

"I just realized I couldn't sit around being a victim any more. That's why I want to learn to defend myself, and why I'm willing to risk my feelings getting hurt to find out where I stand with certain people." I gave him a significant look but he didn't take the bait. Darn it!

"As for feeling less human... I don't feel like I can go back to a normal life after what happened to me, but I don't think I'm any less human now than I was before. It's just... Sam and I had a long talk a few days ago and when I said something about being 'just a barmaid.' He pointed out that I've tried really hard to be a regular human for years now, but I haven't succeeded.

"He said that everyone notices how different I am, even though I try to hide it, and that maybe I should stop pretending and just face it. He said that I'm as much a Supe as he is, even though I'm physically as weak as a regular human, because I'm much stronger mentally. He said I have to find some way to use my abilities fully, and that if I do that I'll be more able to pass for human the rest of the time. He said that's how it works for shifters, too. I think he might be right; trying not to be a telepath has never worked for me, but when I have the chance to use my abilities for something useful, it's easier to keep my shields up the rest of the time.

"Amelia said something, too, about me feeling ashamed of my telepathy because it made me different, instead of being proud of it because it makes me special. She insists I'm too modest and ought to show off my powers more, but she also says I'm crap at pretending to be human and I should just stop wasting my time."

"I think they are right."

"You agree with a shifter and a witch?" I teased.

"Usually no, but I will make an exception this time."

I yawned loudly. It was 3am and I'd had only an hour's sleep all night.

"Sorry, I think I need to sleep now."

I wriggled down into bed and was sound asleep before my head hit the pillow.


	11. Training

I woke at midday with a smile on my face. It was the first time I had slept right through since the Fairy War, and after so long without a full night's sleep, it felt incredible. After I talked with Eric, I knew what to do when the nightmares started: I fought back. I changed their course so that nobody was hurt or killed, or I simply turned my attention elsewhere. I managed to replay the previous night's sex in my dreams about four times, to tune out the nightmares, and I was pleased with myself.

I stretched and found that I wasn't as sore as I expected to be; Eric's blood had taken care of any minor injuries I incurred during our lovemaking, as well as helping to heal the wounds from the fairies. I threw back the covers and looked at my body. Some of the smaller wounds were replaced with shiny pink new skin; they would look almost normal in a week or so. I would have faint scars there, but nothing more. That was good. Even the crater in my thigh was shallower than it had been the night before. His blood had done a lot of good; I made a mental note to thank him next time I saw him.

He told me we would spend the next three nights together, and I hoped he meant it. Three nights in a row together would be wonderful; I would enjoy every moment of it and I could wait 'til he was gone to think about being without him. He wouldn't be able to see me for a few months after that, but I could worry about that later.

I pulled on my robe and wandered into the kitchen, where Amelia was waiting for me.

"Well, don't you look like the cat that got the cream today," she smirked. "I guess it really was as good as it sounded."

I blushed bright red. "I'm sorry we were so noisy." I started making myself some toast so I wouldn't have to look at her.

"You don't mean that for a second," she said slyly.

"OK, I don't, but I will try to be quieter next time," I promised.

"Don't be quiet on my account. It's much easier to keep Pam informed when you make things so... obvious."

I grabbed a sponge from the sink and threw it at her, but missed. She just laughed, then threw it right back at me.

"So, you're seeing loverboy again soon?" she asked. "I'm sure he'll be back for seconds, he was even louder than you."

"He said he'll be here for the next three nights."

"Way to go Sook!"

"I know he doesn't love me, but I still love him so I guess it's OK," I added sadly. "He has to go away for a few months, so I won't see him for ages after that. I know I'll have to move on soon, to find someone who can love me, but there's nothing wrong with saying goodbye, is there?"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Sookie, there's nothing wrong with having sex with someone you don't love, especially if they make you scream like that Viking does. It's OK to do it just for fun sometimes."

I blushed deeply. "I really will be quieter next time, just so I don't have to discuss it with you." I poked my tongue out at her and she laughed again.

I sat down across the table from her with my toast and juice, and started eating. Amelia was telling me about some magic she was going to teach me today. She said she had given up on trying to teach me to do things the way she would do them, but had found some information on the different powers that fairies can have: teleportation, enhanced speed and strength, control over the weather, healing powers, control over living things... she had a long list. She had started creating tests for me, to find out what other fairy powers I might have. I was pretty sure I couldn't do any of it – I was mostly human after all – but she seemed determined, so I knew I would have to try it all, at least once.

I seemed to be her new project, and annoyed as I was about that, I was also thrilled to see her talking so much. It was like having my best friend back again, so if this was what it took to help her through her grief, I would do it with good humor. I owed her far more.

When she was done talking, I stood up and went to wash my dishes.

"Oh, by the way, you better call Quinn. He left his work number," she told me, handing me a piece of paper. "He sounded really worried. Scared, almost. Hey, he's only in Atlanta today, he probably heard you and Eric last night. No wonder he's scared, not many men could compete with that!"

She ducked out of the room before I could throw the sponge at her again.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number. Quinn answered on the first ring.

"Babe! I'm so glad to hear from you. What's going on? Do you know why was I summoned?"

"Uh, hi Quinn. I don't know, Amelia just gave me your message. Am I supposed to know something? Who summoned you?"

"Eric. He says I have to meet him at Fangtasia at midnight tonight. Either it's something to do with you, or I'm in deep shit. Excuse my French." He sounded really worried.

"I'm not sure. I don't know wha... Oh, sorry about that!" I exclaimed, finally realizing what was going on. "I told him last night that you offered to teach me to fight, and asked him to let you into his territory again as a favor to me so you could. Assuming the offer is still open, that is."

"Wow. Was he mad? I guess he didn't kill you if you're talking to me, but is your house OK?"

"It's all fine. He was angry, but he kept it under control pretty well. I told him I needed a teacher who's mortal, has fought almost as much as he has, and who I trusted enough not to freeze up when they pretend to attack me, so he knew there wouldn't be many people who fit the bill."

Quinn laughed. "So you appealed to his ego and he gave in?"

"Huh?"

"You need someone who's, quote, 'fought almost as much as he has'? You mean, you told him you wanted someone less skilled than him to teach you," he chuckled.

"Oh, sorry!" I apologized, finally getting what he meant. "I didn't mean to compared you unfavorably to him, I just needed to give him some good reasons why you should be the one to teach me."

"No worries. If it convinces him to let me see you, say whatever you want. Hey, tell him that if you make it to advanced training, you want him to train you then. He'll love that."

"Quinn! It almost sounds like you enjoy working out ways to appeal to Eric's ego," I teased.

"I enjoy anything that gets me closer to you, babe," he murmured, his voice husky.

"Hey, you know I'm seeing Eric..." I reminded him gently.

"I know. But it's only a matter of time 'til the big leach messes up, and when he does, I'll be there to sweep you off your feet. I lost you once, but it won't happen again."

I sighed. "Please John, we're just friends now. I can't be anything more to you."

"OK, I'll back off. You know I love you and that's all that matters. Seeya tonight."

He hung up before I could respond.

It was true, I knew he loved me; in the last couple of weeks, he had told me twice on the phone, and also when we got a few minutes alone at the picnic. I knew that if he and I got a chance together, I could definitely love him. When I was really honest with myself, I knew that I already did love him a little; I hadn't ever really stopped when we split up. He's strong and kind, he listens to me, he treats me with respect and I feel completely at ease around him. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him, getting married, having children, sharing a home and a life, one day having grandchildren... the future I always wanted.

But then there's Eric. Who I love ten times as much. Who I'm bonded to. Who turns me on more than I thought any man ever could. Who saved my life, how many times? Who doesn't love me, rarely has time for me and treats me with a lot less respect than I'd like... all three of which are supposed to be deal-breakers for me. I told him I would move on sooner or later if he couldn't give me those things, and I will; I just have to keep convincing myself. A 1,000 year old Viking vampire Sheriff can't give me the things that would make me happy, even if I would gladly give up the chance to have children and a normal life to be with him.

I was starting to make myself sad again, so I snapped out of it. I'd had a full night's sleep after wonderful sex and I was probably going to see Eric again tonight – and with a little luck, he would let Quinn come and train me. More than enough to be happy about.

I showered, got dressed and went to find Amelia for my 'training'.


	12. Something new

It was just after sunset when Eric appeared on my back porch. He must've slept in the hidey-hole in my old bedroom, but I'd been too busy to notice.

Amelia had me trying to speed up the life cycle of a weed in my lawn; I couldn't do it. I was concentrating so hard on the futile task that she spotted him before I did.

"Hey Eric!" she exclaimed. "Guess what? Sookie can teleport!"

Now that she was, quote, 'helping me unlock my fairy powers' rather than 'teaching me magic', her jealousy had completely evaporated. She was genuinely happy for me every time I managed to do something, even when I wasn't.

I wasn't sure I _could_ teleport again, so I tried to beg off.

"It only happened twice," I grizzled, "there's no reason to think it'll happen again. I haven't managed that lightning thing again."

"Will you at least try?" she pleaded. "I'll beg if I have to." I heard in her thoughts that by 'beg', she meant that she would project _PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE _at me loudly until I gave in.

"Lover, I would like to see this too. I will also beg if I have to," Eric waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.

"Fine. Since you asked nicely," I agreed.

I closed my eyes, concentrated hard and tried to remember what I'd done before.

"Oh, hurry up," complained Amelia. "We haven't got all night, you know."

I instantly felt angry, and that gave me the spark I needed. '_Pop_', I was on the other side of the back yard. I blinked and realized I could do it again. With another '_pop_' I appeared directly in front of Amelia and stuck my tongue out. We both knew that she had deliberately annoyed me, because I always managed to do things the first time when I was mad.

I was enjoying myself, so I tried something else. '_Pop_', I was standing on a thick branch, about 20 feet above the ground, in the tree closest to my back door. I laughed, but decided it best not to stay there too long lest I fall. '_Pop_', I appeared by Eric's side.

"Wow," he gaped, completely awe-struck.

Figuring out how to teleport had put me in a really good mood. I leaped at him, jumping into his arms with my legs around his waist. I kissed him hard and he held me tight, our mouths dueling for dominance. He moaned and pulled me back a little, breaking the kiss. Amelia excused herself loudly and went inside, leaving us alone.

"You smell like fairy," he whispered. "You smell amazing. If you keep kissing me-"

"I know," I cut him off, grinding against his erection. "You want to bite me and fuck me and rub yourself all over me."

"Yes," he breathed. "My fairy princess."

He was nibbling my ear while I squirmed against him. Then he nipped the sensitive spot just below my ear and I moaned.

"Are you strong enough for me to bite you now?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

"If you can give me a little of your blood, I'm sure I'll be fine."

He growled and carried me to the bedroom. He set me down on the bed and got the knife that was still sitting on my nightstand from the evening before. I figured I probably shouldn't use it for cooking any more, so I hadn't taken it into the kitchen and washed it yet.

In vampire speed he was undressed and stretched across my bed, naked and rock hard. My eyes roamed over his whole body, from his long blond hair to his muscular calves. I lingered at my favorite parts of him: his broad shoulders, his perfectly developed pecs, his washboard stomach, his gracious plenty, his well-defined quads... heck, almost every part of him was my favorite. Just looking at his beautiful body turned me on, and he knew it.

"See anything you like, lover?" he murmured huskily.

I nodded, then realized I could have some fun with this and pouted a little.

"You're hiding my favorite part. Roll over?" I asked.

He complied instantly and I crawled across the bed to be next to him. I looked him over from top to toe, memorizing every perfectly-defined muscle on his back, butt and legs. I ran my fingertips over him lightly, starting at his shoulders and slowly working down his body, all the way to his toes. Then I worked my way back up his leg, this time skimming his inner thighs. When I reached the top of his legs and slid my hands up to his ass, he gasped. Then I grabbed his butt cheeks firmly, one in each hand, and kneaded them. He moaned as I dug my fingers in, challenging their firmness. When I was done, I leaned over to lick and nibble his gorgeous ass, before giving each cheek a firm nip. He let out a low growl each time.

I was about to flip him back over when I remembered something I had seen in Amelia's head once. I figured Eric would be game for almost anything and decided to try it. She thought it was something a lot of men liked and I'd seen it enough times in other people's heads to know she was right. I ran my fingertips all over his perfect butt again, teasing him. I ran one finger along the crease between his buttocks to gauge his reaction and the lower I went, the louder he moaned. As I got close to his puckered opening, I felt a surge of hopefulness through the bond, as well as the lust that had been building for some time. Interesting. I went back to running my fingertips all over his perfect globes, and felt his disappointment clearly.

"Lover, do anything you want," he mumbled hoarsely. "Anything."

So he really did like this. Wow. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I figured a little more exploring couldn't hurt. I ran my finger between his cheeks again slowly, and he started grinding against the mattress. I smiled; I loved having this effect on him. He moved his legs further apart to allow me access. This time, I didn't stop where I had before, I kept going instead. When I reached his tight hole, he grunted and thrust back against me. Wow, he really, really liked this. I kept my fingers moving downwards, massaging the spot directly below his opening gently, then continued down to stroke his balls. He was grunting and moving now, fucking the mattress but simultaneously trying to stay still enough that he didn't disturb my hands.

I rolled his balls in my hand for a few seconds, listening to his strangled moans, then moved up a little. I massaged firm circles on the spot just behind them, the one Amelia called a 'perineum' in her thoughts. I could feel his pleasure through the bond, as well as a distinct sense of anticipation. I trailed my finger just a little higher, and I was there. Again, he gasped and pushed against my finger. I traced lazy circles around and around, and he whimpered desperately. It was a sound I had never heard him make before, and I could feel myself getting wet just hearing it. I was a little worried it might be, well, dirty to go any further, but then I remembered that vampires don't eat, so they don't have to... So, no need to worry about that. Finally, I gave a little press and a wave of pleasure hit me through the bond. He really, really liked this. Wow.

I knew he was close and I suddenly wanted to taste him when he came. I pulled back and gave his butt cheeks one last squeeze before asking him to turn over. He did, immediately. I was still fully clothed – we hadn't got to the part where we undressed me yet – and there was something sexy about watching him writhe naked beneath me while I was completely covered up; it made him seem almost vulnerable.

He was staring at me and I could feel him getting nervous through the bond.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No lover, there's just something I was thinking of asking you. Something I've never done before that I'd love to try with you. A fantasy of mine. But if it's too much for you, it's OK, you can say no."

I was suddenly apprehensive. I knew Eric had been around a long time and used his time, well, adventurously, so he'd done just about everything already. I imagined that anything he hadn't done yet would be pretty out there. Probably way too out there for me... although if you'd asked me an hour ago if I was 'out there' enough to finger a guy's ass, I would've said that was far too kinky for me. Now I know I actually sort of like it, or at least, the reaction it gets.

"Ask me anything," I offered, "but please don't be offended if I say no."

"I'd just like you to drink from me, from a spot we haven't tried before," he requested, motioning towards his gracious plenty.

It was a much less extreme suggestion than I had expected from him, but he had mentioned that he rarely gave anyone his blood, so I assumed that was why he had never done this before.

"OK," I agreed without even thinking about it. I liked the taste of his blood; I liked the feel of him inside my mouth; I figured it couldn't hurt to try combining the two. Or at least, not hurt me. "Won't that hurt you though?"

"I was hoping you might use that fairy trick to give me a little jolt of pleasure while I cut myself, although I'm turned on enough that I might almost be able to manage without it."

"No, I can do this," I grinned, forming a small ball of energy with my hands.

I dipped my fingertips into the ball and ran them along his inner thighs as he cut himself. It worked; he stayed completely hard despite the pain. I didn't enjoy seeing him hurt himself, even though I knew he'd be completely healed in under 5 minutes, but I was intrigued enough to want to try this.

I leaned forward and took him in my mouth, sucking hard. His blood was as sweet and rich as ever, and I was instantly moaning just as much as he was. I held his shaft with my left hand and began working him quickly, while I stroked my right hand along his inner thigh and up towards the spot I had discovered earlier. I stroked the underside of his balls for a few seconds, then rubbed the spot behind them that he liked so much. Then I traced his tight opening.

He was bucking his hips and thrusting into my mouth; he was really, really close. I knew it was now or never and figured, what the hell? I pressed gently and he opened to me, letting me slide my finger inside his cool body. He literally screamed with pleasure, and as his seed spilled into my mouth, I could feel his muscles pumping around my finger for at least 30 seconds.

When I was sure he was finished, I withdrew my finger, and was pleased to see it was completely clean. I let him slide from my mouth and climbed up his body to kiss him, pressing my fully clothed body against him as I did. I had his blood and his seed on my lips, and he greedily licked both off.

"Lover, you are amazing," he murmured to me. "So many wonderful surprises."

I smiled and sat up, straddling his stomach. I slid my cardigan off my shoulders and threw it across the room. Then I took the hem of my t-shirt and lifted it off in one clean movement, throwing it away too. After he gave me his blood last night, I had finally healed enough to wear a bra and had a lacy burgundy number on. I rolled off the bed to shimmy out of my jeans, so he could see the matching panties. His eyes roamed my body.

"So beautiful," he purred at me and I smiled.

I lay down on top of him and kissed him again, pressing the entire length of my body against him. He unclipped my bra and started sliding my panties down my hips before he flipped us both over so he was on top of me.

"My beautiful fae princess," he murmured into my mouth. "So perfect," he sighed.

He worked his way down my body, kissing, licking and nuzzling as he went. He swirled his tongue around each nipple before sucking it into his mouth and nipping a little with his fangs. I moaned and ground myself against him each time.

Then, he had my panties off and he was licking me. I was soaking wet from all the time I'd spent playing with his body and I knew he could tell I was close already. He drew it out a little, licking me slowly, gently and thoroughly instead of sucking or flicking my nub (both of which got a faster reaction). It felt heavenly. When he slid two fingers inside me a couple of minutes later, I was floating on cloud nine.

I didn't mind at all that he was delaying my orgasm every way he could; I felt like I was in heaven and I wanted to stay there. He kept slowing down when I was about to finish, giving me a little longer to wait, but eventually, it was time. He walked his fingers against the spot I liked best, to make the sensations even more intense for me, and I slid over the edge. The slow, gentle spasms lasted over a minute and it was pure ecstasy the whole time.

When I finished he crawled back up my body, planting little kisses on every landmark he passed on the way: my hip bones, my belly button, my nipples, my collar bones. Each kiss brought on an aftershock and I sighed in pleasure every time. When he reached my mouth, he kissed me deeply and I tasted myself on him. Another thing I never expected to enjoy, but now absolutely loved.

I wrapped my legs around him and urged him into me. As he slid inside me, I felt perfect, complete, whole. I almost told him I loved him, but stopped myself at the last second; I knew he wasn't going to say it back and I didn't need reminding. He set a steady but gentle pace and I relaxed back into the mattress, enjoying the feel of him. My hands wandered all over him as we kissed, and after a few minutes I came. He kept going, building me gently to a second climax, and when I was almost there, I moved my head to one side and offered my neck. He bit down and took a few mouthfuls of my blood as we finished together.

We lay entwined in one another's limbs for a few minutes, while he murmured in a language I didn't understand. I considered asking him what he was saying, but decided that if he wanted me to know, he spoke English just as well as I did. Probably better. I drifted into a sound sleep as he healed the tiny wounds on my neck.


	13. The magic word

Eric woke me a couple of hours later, shaking my shoulder gently.

"Lover, wake up. We are going to Fangtasia," he stated.

"What's the magic word?" I grumbled.

"There is a magic word that makes you wake up and get ready?" he asked incredulously. "I would like to know such a word."

"It's just an expression, Eric. The 'magic word' is please. If you say 'please', it would be rude for me to refuse."

"So if I say 'please', you will do as I ask?"

"As long as what you ask is reasonable."

"Please wake up and get ready to go to Fangtasia with me," he asked.

"Fine," I agreed, swinging my legs out of bed onto the floor.

"You are not fighting with me." He sounded amazed.

"Of course not, you were polite and respectful," I replied as I wandered into the bathroom.

"So if I'm polite and respectful you will do as I wish?" he asked from the doorway, watching me brush my hair.

"Within reason, yes."

"Then this 'magic word' truly is magic. Are there other magic words?"

"It's not really magic, it's just good manners. But yes, there are others. 'Thank you' and 'sorry' are just as important, in other circumstances."

"When are those used?"

If anyone else had asked, I would know they were being funny, but I was fairly certain Eric really didn't know when to say 'thank you' or 'sorry'. I didn't think he got much practice saying either.

"If somebody inconveniences themselves to do something for you, you say thank you. That makes it bad manners for them to stay unhappy with you for inconveniencing them. If you do something that hurts someone, you say sorry and then it's bad manners for them to hold a grudge."

"This is useful to know. Have I done anything I should say thank you or sorry for?" he asked innocently.

I sighed. Could he honestly not remember a single time he had inconvenienced or hurt me? I had finished brushing my hair and teeth, so I walked to my closet to look for an outfit.

"Eric, we don't have time for this conversation now. If I have to make a list of every time you've inconvenienced me or hurt my feelings, we'll be here for hours."

"Oh. Then thank you and sorry. Are you happy with me again now?" he smiled broadly.

"It usually has to be more specific than that, but since it's you, I guess that's the best I'm going to get and I should accept it."

"Good. Wear the blue dress," he commanded, looking at the two outfits I had pulled from my closet.

I rolled my eyes at him and put the dress back in the closet in favor of the black skirt and pink top. He looked angry for a second, then remembered what we were talking about.

"Please wear the blue dress, lover. It matches your eyes."

"OK."

I pulled the dress out of my closet again and put the skirt and top away instead, then went to find shoes and underwear to go with the dress. Eric beamed.


	14. Negotiation

On the drive to Fangtasia, Eric grilled me about the 'training' I had been doing with Amelia. He wanted to know about every single experiment we had tried, whether they were successful or not. Almost all of them had been unsuccessful, so there was a lot to talk about with very little actual news to convey.

Still, to have some telekinetic ability and be able to teleport now... to be honest, I was really pleased with my myself. Plus there were the jolts of pleasure I could give people; of all my new powers, that seemed to be Eric's favorite. No surprises there.

When we arrived, I realized I didn't want to hear my Fangbanger Hate Club's thoughts – and I didn't have to.

"See you inside," I told Eric, as he helped me out of the car.

I kissed him on the cheek, and '_pop_!' I was in his office. I was enjoying this a lot.

Pam looked up from behind Eric's desk, clearly astonished. Her surprise showed all over her face, almost like a human facial expression. Weird, for a vampire.

"What? How did you- ?" she stammered.

I had never heard Pam stammer before, and I liked her reaction more than I should. I smiled at her broadly as Eric opened the door and walked in.

"My bonded has new fairy powers." He strutted in proudly.

Pam rose from behind his desk and came around the other side while he took his seat.

"Teleporting's far less work that shielding myself from all the death threats out there," I shrugged, pretended it was no big deal.

"Somebody in my club wants to kill you?" Eric was suddenly furious.

"Eric, your entire fangbanger fan club wants to kill me," I laughed. "No need to provoke them by walking through your club with you if I don't have to."

"So this is why you don't like coming here?" he asked, a lot calmer than he had been a few moments ago.

"It's a big part of it," I admitted. "I don't think I'm really the target audience for this place, either," I smiled sweetly. Plus I hated hearing (and sometimes seeing – ew!) what he got up to when I wasn't around in the thoughts of the various fangbangers in the place, not that I would ever say so.

"No, I guess you're not," he smiled back.

He turned to Pam then and they spoke to one another at vampire speed for a couple of minutes. The few words I caught sounded like they were in Swedish, or whatever language it was they spoke to one another. Whatever they were discussing, I guess I wasn't supposed to know about it. I sat on the couch, checking my fingernails out of boredom.

As though he had heard what I was thinking, Eric turned and said, "Pam is filling me in on some business matters and the preparations for the trip I must take."

I nodded and they went back to their discussion.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Eric commanded.

Thalia walked in with Quinn behind her, looking very uneasy.

"Leave," Eric ordered, glancing at Pam and Thalia. Half a second later they were both gone and the door was closed behind them.

I stood up and hugged Quinn hello. Eric growled.

"Hey babe," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"Hi Quinn," I replied, pulling back to look in his eyes.

We smiled at one another for a second, while Eric continued to growl.

"Eric," Quinn greeted him.

Eric just stared at him in fury, enraged that a smelly shifter had touched 'his' woman in his club, or some such possessive male nonsense. I realized I had to do something to calm him down, so I walked around to his side of the desk, pushed him into his chair, and sat on his desk facing him.

"Eric," I murmured, taking his face in my hands and turning him to look at me.

After a few seconds, he let me turn his face toward me. He finally broke his glare at Quinn to give me a puzzled look.

"Eric, you like that I smell like fairy, don't you?" I crooned, leaning over to rub my hair and neck against his nose.

"Yes," he answered in a guarded tone but his fangs had run out a little, giving him away. I smiled.

"And you like that I taste like fairy, don't you?" I teased, as I reached out and pricked my index finger on his fang, then rubbed a single drop of blood onto his tongue.

"Yes," he moaned as he sucked my finger. He cast a triumphant glance at Quinn, obviously pleased at my display.

"And you like my new fairy powers?" I formed a small ball of energy in my hands, dipped my fingers in it and ran my glowing fingertips down his forearms.

"Yesss," he hissed, his head thrown back in delight.

"Then you can put up with one or two fairy customs, can't you?" I asked in my sweetest voice.

His head snapped up and he stared at me in confusion for a second.

"Hugging smelly animals is a fairy custom?" he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Fairies are very affectionate, they're always touching people."

"Fairies never hug me." I felt his disappointment clearly through the bond.

I chuckled. "Well, no. You, they wouldn't touch."

"Because I would eat them." He was altogether too pleased at the thought for my liking.

"Yes." It didn't seem the right time to tease him about the way he had behaved around my cousin Claudine; some other time.

"So you hug all those smelly shifters because you have fairy blood."

"I think so," I admitted. "I only realized a few days ago that my cousins were always touching people, too. I think that might be where I get it. So I figure, if I can put up with your weird vampire customs, surely you can deal with one weird fairy custom?"

He sighed; he knew I had him there. "Fine, but you will not smell like him for long," he leered at me.

"As you wish." I batted my eyelids at him.

I stood up and turned to face Quinn, standing close to Eric. He snaked his arm around my waist to make it clear that I was his. Territorial vampires. I rolled my eyes and chuckled inwardly.

"Sorry," I mouthed at Quinn.

_Don't apologize, babe,_ he projected back. _I can't see him denying you anything after that._

Quinn grinned at me and I glared at him to stop; it was best Eric didn't know about our silent conversations.

"You offered to teach my bonded how to defend herself in a fight." Eric sounded icy, but through the bond I could feel his contentment and lust. I hoped that was a good sign.

"I did." Quinn had the sense to keep things brief.

"Why?"

"She wants to learn and I can teach her."

"She is mine." There was an undercurrent of menace in Eric's voice as he said it; very slight, but the hairs on my arm still stood on end.

"So she tells me."

"You will not win her back from me."

"I'm not trying to. As long as she says she's yours, I'll respect that."

Eric narrowed his eyes. "Then why do you make this offer? If you're not planning to fuck her behind my back, what is your motive?"

"I want her to be safe, and she clearly isn't right now," Quinn fumed. "She's your _bonded_, she's under your King's formal protection, your area investigator says he'd die to protect her, but look what happened to her, right under all your noses. I still love her, I won't lie about that, and seeing her hurt drives me mad. She won't call me when she's in trouble and nobody else protects her properly, my kind or yours, so the only way I'll be sure she's safe is if she can defend herself. No-one else is offering to teach her, are they?"

I was certain he had just blown it. Eric would deny his request – and possibly kill him for being so disrespectful – but Quinn just kept going.

"If you actually want to keep your _legendary telepath_ alive, you'll let me train her. Hate me all you want, I'll still make sure anyone who messes with her regrets it."

I was so tense my body was completely rigid, waiting for them to start fighting. Quinn was staring Eric down, nostrils flared and fists clenched. I subtly turned a hand towards each of them, ready to push them apart when they went for one another. I wasn't sure it would do any good, though; they were both supernaturally fast and could probably kill each other before I had time to react. Well, Eric would kill Quinn; I already knew who would win this fight.

As the seconds ticked by without violence, I eventually dared glance at Eric. I was stunned by how relaxed he looked. His body language was utterly devoid of tension; like he was going to swing his feet onto his desk any second. It wasn't a bluff either: through the bond, I could feel that he really was that relaxed. I couldn't figure that out. Quinn told Eric he loved me and accused him of failing to protect me, then implied that Eric might prefer it if I was dead, but Eric was less tense now than he was _before_ Quinn said it all.

I puzzled over that for a few moments; Eric was much more relaxed when Quinn insulted and taunted him than he was when he was polite. Maybe he thought Quinn was only being honest when he was rude to him. He was probably right.

"You are forbidden from entering my area," Eric stated after a full minute of silence, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.

"I'm here to negotiate an alternative penalty, so I can train Sookie while you're away."

I expected Eric to make this difficult, but he didn't. "Fine. Pay me $10,000 in damages and you may re-enter my area."

"Done."

I gasped. Quinn was willing to pay $10,000 just to be allowed to come and see me? I was very flattered, but it didn't seem fair. He had offered to take time off work to come and train me, and he was being charged to do it?

Eric was about to dismiss Quinn, but I couldn't let this stand. I almost yelled at him, but I knew how unlikely that was to work, so I had to think of another way to make him change his mind. At the last possible moment, an idea came to me.

I sat back down on Eric's desk, facing him again.

"Sheriff," I whispered, bowing my head submissively. "I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, but... may I say something?"

I was laying it on so thick I figured he would see through me and be angry, but I could feel that he was pleased. Very pleased. And horny again, but when wasn't he?

"Of course you may speak, my lover," he purred, stroking my face.

"Would you mind if we... well, if we made the arrangement for Quinn to train me a little more formal? So he's obligated to make sure I get at least basic training? I mean, if I get good enough to need advanced training, I'd rather you train me then, if you would?"

I remembered what Quinn had said on the phone and figured it couldn't hurt to throw it in. He was right; Eric was extremely flattered when I said it. He nodded his agreement and I continued.

"But for now, I just want to be sure Quinn has to keep training me, even if I'm really hopeless. Maybe you could make him work off his debt to you, so he can't give up on teaching me if I totally suck? Although it's an awful lot of money... will I need someone around to make sure I'm safe while you're away? During the day when Bill's not around, I mean. I know you have him check on me at night."

I knew I was insulting Quinn; he was a legendary fighter and market rate for his training was probably thousands of dollars an hour, but I wanted him to train me and I didn't want him to have to pay for the privilege. The thought of my ex paying Eric to see me made me feel icky inside, like I was letting him sell me. That wasn't going to happen.

Eric made a show of thinking about it for a few seconds, but he winked at me when Quinn glanced away for a moment, to make sure I knew it was just for show.

"That is a good plan," he finally agreed. "My lover has some excellent ideas. Quinn, you will work off your debt to me by training and guarding my bonded. You will report her progress to me and I will approve what you teach her before you begin."

_The mighty Sheriff sure is wrapped 'round your little finger_, Quinn thought at me. I almost laughed at his comment, but stopped just in time.

"Certainly, Sheriff," Quinn managed to sound completely serious, as though he wasn't making fun of Eric in his thoughts at all. "I'll spend one month training and guarding your bonded, starting when you leave for your trip. I trust this will satisfy my debt to you?"

_I promised I'd take a month off to spend with you and now I can,_ he added.

"Fine," Eric dismissed him. "That is all." He waved him away.

"Bye Sookie, see you in a couple days." _You crafty vixen,_ he thought at me as he left.

I guess I had learned something from spending so much time with Eric.

"Thank you Eric," I said sincerely, staring deep into his eyes. "I really appreciate you organizing that for me. And I forgot to thank you before for giving me your blood. My scars are healing up really well thanks to you."

I pulled up the sleeve of my cardigan to show him, and he kissed the inside of my wrist, then looked me in the eye again.

"I know what you just did, lover," he murmured. "You are so very devious. Wonderfully devious."

I wasn't sure what to say, but I could feel that he wasn't angry. Instead, the main feeling coming through the bond was pride. OK, so he liked me playing games with him, I noted.

"Well, I did learn from the Master," I giggled, and he lunged at me.

He pinned me to his desk and kissed me deeply; he had clearly enjoyed my pretend submission.

Five minutes later my underwear was torn to shreds, my dress was pulled down to my waist and I was impaled on him, still sitting in his office chair.

"See what happens to devious girls," he whispered as he ran his fangs along my neck.

"I'll never be bad again, Master," I whispered back playfully.

He pinched my nipples and sent me over the edge, sinking his fangs into my neck as my climax finished him off too.

When he went to heal the bite on my neck a few minutes later, I asked him not to. I wanted his mark on me, where everyone could see it, and I told him so.

He smiled and kissed me tenderly, flooding our bond with his joy.


	15. Girl talk

As if she had received some secret signal, Pam entered Eric's office the second I finished righting my clothing.

"_Master_, I wish to speak with your bonded alone. May I borrow her?" Pam smiled a little too gleefully, her fangs peeking out.

"Retract your fangs and you may," he ordered.

She retracted her fangs with a pout, then grabbed my hand and dragged me out to sit in Eric's booth in the noisy club. I pulled my shields up around me so I didn't have to hear what the fangbangers thought about me walking through the bar hand in hand with Pam, even if she was pulling me along.

Felicia brought our drinks literally seconds after we sat: gin and tonic for me, True Blood for Pam.

_OK, Eric arranged to get me out of his office so he can attend to secret vamp business_, I thought to myself. I didn't mind; Pam was enjoyable company and she was practically beaming tonight. Before I could ask, she told me why.

"I had a very interesting conversation with Amelia last night," she grinned. "Something about explaining to Eric what a booty call is. You make my life so interesting, Sookie. I never thought a human would call Eric a player and live to tell the tale," she chuckled.

"It wasn't like that, Pam." It hadn't escaped my notice that she was saying this within the earshot of every other vampire in the club; perhaps they couldn't hear over the music, but I wasn't sure.

"No, of course not. In his far-less-amusing version of events, you offered to learn enough vampire customs to show your respect for him properly, so long as he learns a few of yours in return. You seem to be learning very quickly, if your little display tonight is any indication," she gave me a very fangy smile.

"Pam!"

"Oh, nothing to blush about little fairy, my Master is very happy. Very, very happy. He enjoyed your performance greatly. We all did." Her grin was a mile wide.

I put my head in my hands. My 'performance' had not been for a general audience, although by now I should have known that a closed office door and a noisy club were no impediment to vampire hearing. Playing up a little in front of Quinn, who had encouraged me to appeal to Eric's ego so he would let him train me, was very different to acting submissively in front of a large group of vampires. I knew I would have to get used to doing it at some point if I was with Eric, but he didn't love me and he was leaving, so as far as I was concerned it was something I would never have to worry about.

"So what new customs have you taught my Master so far?" Pam inquired.

This was easier to talk about. "I taught him the 'magic word' tonight," I informed her.

"You mean please?" she laughed, clearly much better versed in human idiom than Eric. "Now that's a word I never thought he would learn," she chuckled.

"I told him that if he uses the magic word, I'll do anything reasonable he asks, because he was polite and respectful."

"Well, he should've realized a part-fairy mate wouldn't take orders like a regular human," she mused.

I suddenly understood what she was up to: she was telling every vampire in the club that Eric treated me the way he did because I was part-fairy. She was making it clear that he would never tolerate insubordination from a regular human, but he had a good reason to make an exception for me. I knew it made him look weak when I challenged him, but perhaps vampires would understand his tolerance, knowing he got a ready supply of part-fairy blood for his trouble. I played along with her ruse.

"No, fairies don't take orders from vampires. When my fairy kin heard I was bonded to Eric, they wanted to kill him to release me because they thought he was trying to make a slave of me. They wouldn't normally let their kin choose a vampire for a mate– not even kin like me who are mostly human– but Eric earned their respect and they accept him now."

"I'm glad to hear that. You have some powerful relatives; they would make good on that threat far too easily for my liking."

I realized she was saying this for someone else's benefit. I looked around the club and spotted two vampires I had not seen before, sitting three booths over from Pam and I. I didn't need to pretend to look worried.

"Did I say more than I should have?" I whispered to Pam, nodding slightly at the strangers.

"No, it's OK, Sookie," she reassured me. "They're Felipe's men, and since you're under his formal protection, they must keep you safe. They are no danger to you, little fairy."

She stroked my face tenderly as she spoke. I wondered what she was up to because she had never been this affectionate towards me before. She smiled broadly at me and dropped her hand.

"I hear you're teaching my Master some other fairy customs as well," she changed the subject. "Hugging smelly mutts," she shook her head, "what odd customs you fae have."

"I hug ALL my friends Pam, not just the shifters."

"Yes, Amelia does smell delightfully like fairy some days." Her fangs ran out again.

"I even feel like hugging my vampire friends sometimes, although I've learned to resist that urge."

"Oh, you can hug me any time, Sookie, any time," she purred. "I think I would quite enjoy smelling like fairy."

"You'll regret that," I laughed. "What will the other vampires think when you smell like your Master's bonded?" I was teasing her now.

"They can draw whatever conclusions they like. Vampires have very dirty minds, you know," she winked at me.

I blushed again and looked down.

"Are there any other fairy customs you plan to spring on my Master?"

"Well, he knows how much I like sun-bathing, which my grandfather thinks I enjoy because I have Sky blood," I mused. "But Eric really doesn't seem to mind that."

"No, he doesn't mind at all. He has mentioned how wonderful the sun tastes on your skin," she leered again.

OK, so she was intent on making the finer points of my relationship with Eric public for some reason. Whatever she was up to, I was fairly sure he knew about it, and I trusted both of them, so I went along with it.

"I'm sure my attachment to my home is partly a fairy thing, too," I thought aloud. "There's a place nearby that's significant to my kin and I could never leave there for long. I have a lot of human attachment to the place, too, but the fairy magic is really what keeps me there. I think I might even lose my gift if I were away from there for too long." I was pretty sure that wasn't true, but I figured it would be good if Felipe thought it was. "I'm actually really sorry I'm so attached to the place, Eric got so mad when he asked me to live with him and I said no. I would love to be with him more, but I can't leave my home. I wish he understood that."

It wasn't completely true, but Pam and I seemed to be explaining all the unusual aspects of Eric's and my bond for our audience's benefit, so I guessed I should say something about why we didn't live together.

"He doesn't know that?" Pam sounded genuinely surprised.

I shook my head.

"I can see why you and Amelia had to explain the booty call thing to him. You clearly don't spend much time _talking_," she said with strong emphasis on the last word.

"Well, no," I blushed.

"Amelia said it upsets you that he has never taken you on a date."

I sighed. "I try not to read too much into it. I guess he's never had to buy a woman dinner to get her into bed before, and that's why he's so unromantic. It probably seems pointless to him."

"That's true. He is much better at getting dinner from them," Pam smirked.

"Look, I know he has a thousand years worth of ex's but I don't want to hear about it," I insisted.

She looked surprised. "You like his... skills, but you do not want to know where he got them?"

"I try really hard not to think about it."

"Interesting. Do all human women feel that way? They do not want to hear about ex's?"

"Most _humans_ feel that way, men are just as bad as women. It's not exclusively a human thing, either. Eric wants to break things whenever I mention Bill."

"So humans can be just as possessive as vampires?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but humans can be just as jealous as vampires are."

"I'm glad you told me that, it seems like something I should know. You are full of useful tips, Sookie."

"Thanks."

"So humans want to be asked politely to do things, to be taken on dates and to not hear about ex's. These are things I should do if I want a human who's not a fangbanger to let me bite them?"

"Exactly."

"We should write a book, you and I. Vampires have a dilemma, now that we are out of the coffin. We cannot glamor our humans so obviously any more; people notice and complain. The A.V.L. ruled we should not make any more slaves and they plan to start enforcing that policy. They think it's bad for vampires' reputation if we enslave humans."

"I can see how it would be bad for P.R.," I snorted.

"We have plenty of willing donors, of course," she looked disdainfully around the room, "but we each have our own preferences, just as humans do, and not many of us are attracted to fangbangers. We could use your advice for getting better-quality humans to let us bite them, you have a unique perspective there. And I've always wanted to give some advice to humans who want to date vampires, they get it so wrong by themselves. We should team up and share our advice, it would sell very well."

Typical vampire, turning everything into a business opportunity.

"Sure Pam," I agreed without really meaning it. "Do you know how much longer Eric will be? I'm getting tired."

As soon as I said it, Eric appeared at my side to take me home. So he had been listening to our conversation. I wasn't quite sure what game he and Pam were playing by revealing so much about our relationship to Felipe's men, but I was beyond caring; I just wanted to go home and sleep.

Eric took my hand, helped me up and led me through the crowd, having some sort of silent discussion with Pam as she walked us out. Every fangbanger glared at me, heading to the exit with the 'two hottest vamps in the club' (as one of them thought). I was too tired to shield out their petty jealousies and lurid imaginings, so I stumbled out in a fog.

When we got outside and said our goodbyes I gave Pam a quick farewell hug, just like she was a human friend.


	16. Scheming

The next day, I slept until after 3pm. When I woke and stretched out in bed, I felt wonderful. I thought about the night before and smiled.

After fooling around on Eric's desk, I talked with Pam while I waited for him to finish his work, then he drove me home. We had fallen into bed and made love tenderly until dawn. I noted that acting a little submissive towards him made him want to be really nice to me, especially when I did it in front of other people. I filed that information away for future use; I was pretty sure it would turn out to be a handy thing to know.

He also clearly liked the little show I had put on in front of Quinn, although I suspect he'd like it less if he knew that Quinn told me to say the part about getting 'advanced training' from him. Or that Quinn mentally congratulated me for 'wrapping Eric around my little finger' while he outwardly managed to look angry and jealous. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the game-playing, and not just because it got me what I wanted. Maybe I wasn't such a good girl these days. _I can live with that_, I decided.

I bounced out of bed happily and headed into the kitchen, where Amelia was waiting for me with a smile on her face. I momentarily wondered how she managed to be there right when I got up two days in a row, but figured it was probably nothing and ignored it.

"I hear someone had fun last night. Lots and lots of fun," she teased.

"Good morning to you too, voyeuristic roomie," I teased back.

"Voyeuristic? You mean you'll let me watch some time?" she inquired innocently.

"NO!" I turned bright red, right on cue.

She laughed; she had been trying to get a rise out of me.

"Quinn told me the good news," she grinned. "I've sorted out the spare room so he can stay in there. Well, until you come to your senses and start-"

"What?" I interrupted. "He's staying here?"

"Well, he is taking a whole month off work to train and guard you, and from what I hear, someone drives a really hard bargain. So I figure it's the least we can do to let him stay here and feed him." She looked so innocent that I knew she was up to something; Amelia never looked innocent unless she was trying very, very hard to do so.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" Best be direct about it, I figured.

"Just looking out for you, Sook. The Viking might fuck like a warrior but you say you want more than just mind-blowing sex."

I blushed bright red again. "So you're match-making Quinn and I?"

"He loves you, you have conversations that don't end in yelling, and he'd even take you on a date if you let him. Plus I hear he's a real tiger in the sack," she winked.

"You have such a one-track mind, Amelia."

"And you have a one-track life. Nice fang marks, by the way," she quipped. "Gimme a yell when you're ready to start training," she called over her shoulder as she left the kitchen.

I could tell my love life wasn't going to get less complicated any time soon; Amelia was making sure of that. Part of me was infuriated by it all. I didn't want a complicated love life, I wanted one man who would love me and stay with me, and I wanted that man to be Eric. I was sick of the revolving door of men in my life, all entering and leaving as they pleased.

But another part of me didn't mind Amelia's meddling at all. If Eric didn't love me and didn't have time to spend with me, Quinn was certainly next on my list. (I sure wasn't getting back together with Bill; Alcide's mating habits killed whatever feelings I ever had for him; I could never see Sam as more than a friend... and that was basically all the men who'd ever wanted me. From that set of choices, Quinn was the clear winner, by a long way.)

I felt really sorry for myself for a few moments, depressed with my limited dating options. Then I remembered that I didn't want a long list of options, I just wanted one man to be happy with. If I could have Eric, I wouldn't care if I never had another option in my life (and with the blood bond, maybe I wouldn't). Could I ever feel that way about Quinn?

Maybe.


	17. Pretty pink outfits

When Eric emerged at sunset, Amelia and I were giggling like schoolgirls in the backyard. As excited as I was about my other new-found fairy powers, the one I had discovered that afternoon was the best by far – and I could already use it on other people just as easily as myself. Well, on Amelia, anyway. That's all I'd tried so far.

The night before, while I was out, Amelia had been watching TV. She had finished studying the powers fairies can have, and had a comprehensive list to work from. She had come up with some simple exercises to test me on each one, and figured we would be busy for at least a week getting through them all – especially because I had to be angry to access a power the first few times. Then the cheesy teen movie she was watching got to a makeover sequence, and she remembered something else Claudine had been able to do.

When Eric appeared at the back door, he stared at us in disbelief. We must have been quite a sight; me in a ballgown and Amelia in a cheerleader's outfit. My gown was lemon yellow, with a full skirt made of layers and layers of silk chiffon. My hair was all back in an elaborate up-do, except the few stray curls that framed my face, and I had more makeup on than I would ever normally wear during the day. Amelia's cheerleader uniform was short, tight, red and white, and was worn complete with pom-poms and pigtails.

As he gaped at us both, Amelia got a devious look on her face.

"I wonder if it works on him? Try, Sookie!" she squealed.

_The orgy outfit_, she yelled at me telepathically. I told her about it once when we were both very drunk.

I giggled hysterically at the mere thought of it, and so did she. When I got hold of myself enough to concentrate for a second, I snapped my fingers and there it was: the glorious hot pink spandex outfit Eric had worn when he escorted me to an orgy.

"It's even funnier than you said," Amelia gasped between guffaws.

We were both laughing so hard that our sides hurt, we were having trouble breathing and tears ran down our faces, but neither of us could stop. Looking at Eric made our laughing fit worse, but so did glancing at one another. We both looked ridiculous, cackling as hard as we were, especially in our outfits. Even seeing how silly I looked in her thoughts was making me giggle more.

Eric just stood there looking unimpressed. After a few minutes, we settled down enough that we could breath again.

"I take it this is amusing for both of you," he sneered in his iciest vampire voice.

The incongruity of the stone cold voice coming from a man in that outfit set us off again. We were both gasping with laughter, and leaning on one another just to stay upright. Amelia fell over first, and soon we were both rolling on the ground in our silly costumes, laughing.

We would have stayed like that for some time, but Eric and I both sensed a vampire approaching. I realized that he would kill me if I let another vamp see him in the orgy outfit, so I concentrated for a second, snapped my fingers, and it was gone. In its place, he was dressed in the first thing I could think of: a pair of jeans that hugged his gorgeous ass just the way I liked. He was shirtless and barefoot, but was at least minimally decent when Bill walked around the corner.

"Compton," Eric greeted him.

"Sheriff," he replied with a nod, pretending not to notice that Eric was half-naked in my backyard.

Amelia and I had settled a little; we were still on the ground but instead of guffawing and snorting, we now merely giggled.

"Hey Bill," I managed, propping myself up on my elbows to look at him.

"Are they OK?" Bill asked Eric, ignoring me. "I heard shrieking and snorting from my place. Why are they on the ground? Why are they dressed like that? Is this the result of some spell?"

"Ask the fairy," Eric muttered.

Amelia projected her mental image of how Eric looked a few moments ago, as hard as she could. Coming from Amelia's mind, the outfit was tighter and put even more emphasis on his gracious plenty than it had in real life. It was enough to start me laughing again, which was enough to start Amelia laughing again, and we were both rolling on the ground clutching our sides before we knew it.

"What is wrong with them?" Bill puzzled.

"You do not want to know," Eric answered. "If you wish to leave with your dignity intact, I suggest you go now."

That just made Amelia and I laugh more. She started projecting at me again, but this time, the image she sent was of Bill dressed as a ballerina.

"No, stop Amelia," I groaned between giggles.

She kept projecting the image at me, again and again. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, and I knew that if she kept it up, I would literally wet myself from laughing too hard.

"C'mon Sook, just this once?" she asked sweetly, still projecting the hysterical image at me.

"OK, OK, let up," I gasped.

She did and I gained control of my breathing again. I hesitated, but Amelia gave me a look that Jason calls 'stink eye' when I do it. She was telling me that I should do as she asked, or she would start projecting at me again – and as one of the loudest broadcasters I knew, I had trouble shutting her out when she did.

I relented and muttered, "Sorry, Bill" as I snapped my fingers.

Amelia exploded in a fit of giggles and I joined her; it truly was the most ridiculous thing I had ever witnessed. I had created the ballerina's outfit to Amelia's far-too-detailed specifications and it was hysterical. The pink satin leotard was stretched out of shaped by Bill's broad shoulders and his chest hair poked out of the neckline. The long tutu hung awkwardly on his slim hips, his leg hair stuck through the pink tights and he shifted his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot, not knowing how to stand in pointe shoes, not even flat-footed. It was a truly bizarre sight. When I got the nerve to look at his face, the bemused fury of his expression made the scene even funnier.

Even Eric cracked a smile. "I do wish I had a camera right now, Compton," he gloated.

Amelia and I exchanged a look and I snapped my fingers again, putting Eric back in his orgy outfit. We laughed even harder.

The two vampires stood on my back lawn in their ridiculous pink outfits, glaring at Amelia and I as hard as they both could. I could tell that Eric was amused by Bill's outfit, and Bill almost cracked a smile at one point when he looked at Eric, but it was clear that neither of them enjoyed being laughed at.

We rolled around the lawn until Eric's mood turned murderous and I figured it was time to stop. I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood, and I finally stopped laughing. Well, mostly. I picked myself up off the ground, closed my eyes so the sight in front of me wouldn't start me laughing again, and concentrated. I snapped my fingers and when I looked at Eric, he was back in the jeans.

I went to change Bill's outfit back, but I realized I had no idea what he had been wearing before. I had been laughing too hard to notice, and now I wasn't sure what to put him into.

"Um, sorry Bill," I confessed sheepishly, "I can't remember what you were wearing before. If you describe it, I'll try to re-create it. Or just tell me what you'd like to be wearing and I'll put you in that."

"You did this?" he asked, astonished.

"New fairy powers," Eric informed him.

"Amelia, did you see what Bill was wearing before?" I inquired.

She was still rolling on the ground laughing, but she nodded, holding her sides. I knelt down and put a hand against her face to read her thoughts. She made it easy for me by picturing the outfit in her mind, so I could simply swipe it off the surface. We'd been experimenting with me doing deeper telepathic reads, digging around in her mind to pull out particular pieces of information, and it was extremely uncomfortable for her. Painful, even, if I dug deep enough.

I helped her up, then closed my eyes, concentrated and snapped my fingers. Bill was back in the outfit he had worn before: dark blue jeans, a forest green shirt and black lace-up shoes. I had taken the picture in Amelia's mind and made each garment a little looser, knowing how she tended to distort things.

"Is that about right?" I asked.

"It will do." He looked relieved but still angry.

"Sorry, Amelia blackmailed me," I apologized.

He nodded at me, turned and left. I had upset him, but I would have to deal with that later. Eric was still glaring at me.

"Sorry, I got carried away," I confessed. "I shouldn't have done that. We just got so excited about this new power. It'll be really useful sometimes."

I thought of the perfect way to demonstrate. I concentrated for a second, snapped my eyes and I was wearing the white dress with red flowers on it that I wore the very first time we met. He smiled and softened a little.

"You won't have to wait for me to get ready ever again," I promised. "And if you ever need a little help..."

I concentrated, snapped my fingers and Eric was in an immaculate tuxedo, complete with a bow tie and a lemon yellow cummerbund. His hair was pulled back neatly at the nape of his neck and he looked scrumptious. I had dreamed of him looking like this many times; in my fantasies he was stepping out of his Corvette to pick me up for a date. I would float down the porch stairs in the lemon yellow ball gown I had been wearing before and he would sweep me into his arms to kiss me. Then I realized, I was being silly. Eric and I on a _date_? Never gonna happen.

My good mood evaporated instantly and a tear ran down my face before I could stop myself. I felt Eric's confusion at my sudden mood change through the bond, but I couldn't bring myself to talk about it. I snapped my fingers three times and we were all back to normal, each wearing jeans and t-shirts. I pushed past him to go inside and rushed into the bathroom, to lock myself away for a while.

I turned on the shower to drown out my sobs, as I cried for the one perfect date I would never have with Eric.


	18. A date

Sitting on the bathroom floor with the shower still running, I thought long and hard about what I should do. I loved Eric and wanted to be with him, but he didn't love me. Tonight was our last full night together before he left me; he told me he had to go by 10pm tomorrow. Part of me wished I had the self-respect to simply send him away, because I wanted to be with someone who loves me and has time for me, and Eric made it clear that he didn't.

Being with Eric made me happy, though, and above all else, I wanted to be happy. If I just relaxed and enjoyed being with him for the night, we would have a wonderful time together. So what if it was just sex? It was the best darn sex I'd had in my life, and I was going to enjoy one last night of it before he left me.

I peeled myself off the bathroom floor and decided to have a shower for real. Perhaps it would hide how puffy my face had gotten while I cried.

I emerged from the bathroom a while later, with wet hair and wearing only a towel, to find Eric waiting for me. He had changed out of the jeans and t-shirt I had left him in, and was now wearing black jeans, a black shirt and black boots. He looked good.

"Lover, what upset you so?" He looked concerned.

"Please, let's not talk about this now. This is our last night together before you leave, let's just enjoy the time we have left."

A slight nod was the only response I got, but he didn't ask again, and I was grateful for that.

He went to my closet, found the white dress I had been wearing when we first met and held it out to me.

"Will you wear this for me tonight, lover? Please?" he added, almost an after-thought.

I didn't see any reason not to, so I took the dress from him as he left the room. I found some underwear and dressed quickly, adding a red cardigan because the night wasn't quite warm enough to go without one.

I went into the bathroom and tried my newest fairy power on my wet hair. I thought of how I liked to style it when I wore it down: loose with a little curl in the ends. I concentrated hard, snapped my fingers, and my hair was perfect. I was really pleased with this new power, it would be mighty handy. I put on a little powder, then blush, mascara and lipstick. More than enough makeup for a night at home, I decided.

When I went out into the kitchen to find Eric, I gasped. The room was lit by dozens of flickering candles and the table was set for two. Something smelled delicious.

"You said I was unromantic," he stated. "I decided to prove you wrong."

"Thank you," I whispered, tears in my eyes.

He had never done anything like this for me before, and I was overwhelmed. It was the closest we would ever get to a date, I thought, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.

"You are leaking," he puzzled. "You do not like it?"

"Happy tears," I answered and hugged him. He kissed the top of my head and held me tightly.

We sat down to eat. The Chinese food Pam had delivered from Shreveport for me was still warm, and I hated to think of how fast she must have driven to get it here before it went cold. She had also brought a bottle of champagne for me and a Royalty Blended for Eric, plus plates, silver, napkins and crystal glasses. It was perfect.

I was so hungry I wolfed down my food for a few minutes, forgetting my manners. Then I remembered that vampires don't like watching humans eat.

"Sorry, Eric. This must be so gross for you," I apologized.

"What is gross?" He sounded confused.

"I thought vampires hated watching humans eat. That you found it really disgusting or something."

"Where on earth would you get such a strange idea?" Then he answered his own question. "The idiot next door, right? He insisted you not eat in front of him, so you went without food while he was around."

I nodded. "I could leave the room to sneak a quick snack if I brushed my teeth a few times afterward, but I didn't eat in front of him."

"What he told you is not accurate. I do not mind watching you eat, nor would most other vampires. I like seeing you put things in your mouth," he leered.

"You don't seem angry this time, about him lying to me?"

"No. As much as I hate the way he treated you, I have decided it is good for me. It is not difficult to treat you better than he did, so you prefer me."

"You look at everything so pragmatically." I was pleased I had remembered that one; it was Word of the Day a few months ago and it described Eric perfectly.

"I did not survive this long by accident."

"I know. I don't mind it so much now that I understand it, but I'm pretty sure it's why I didn't trust you for a long time."

He looked shocked. "Why would my pragmatism make me untrustworthy?"

"Well, you made it very clear that you do whatever's necessary to get what you want. It seemed like there was no moral code limiting you; you would do literally anything to get your way. We humans call people like that sociopaths and we're scared of them. The people who seem most trustworthy are the ones whose conscience stops them doing anything that harms others, even when it would get them exactly what they wanted."

"But how do you know someone follows such a code?"

I hadn't really thought about it before, so I took a few moments to answer.

"I guess it comes down to the little things. We watch what people do with all the opportunities they get to commit small acts of treachery to get what they want, and we see what they do. If they can pass up those small opportunities, we just assume they can pass up the big ones too."

He nodded in understanding. "This is why you trusted Bill and not me?"

"Yes. His human manners are perfect. He behaves like such a gentleman that I couldn't see what he was really capable of."

"So if I knew human manners, I could have won you away from him before he claimed you as his." He sounded upset.

"Eric, I can't say how things would've turned out. We'll never know."

"But you found me attractive from the first time we met."

"Yes, but I was also terrified of you."

"I didn't have to scare you, there is much I could have done to set you at ease. Then, you would have been mine. I would have been your first. Your only."

"I didn't know that mattered to you. I didn't think you normally went for women so... inexperienced?"

"Normally I don't, but I wanted you. You are special. Bill should not have touched you under false pretenses as he did."

There was nothing I could say to that and I had finished eating, so I got up and walked around the table. I sat on his lap and kissed him, working his mouth slowly and gently.

It felt so perfect being with him that for a second, I wished he had been my first, my only, as he wanted. Then I realized, there might be some way that he could. I pulled away and looked him in the eye.

"Eric, if there's anything you want to do with me, that I haven't done before... you can't be my _first_ first, but if you would like to be my first in some other way, I'd like that."

"You are giving me permission to do new things to you tonight?"

"I'm saying you can ask me for anything, and as long as it doesn't sound completely terrible, I'll try it. If I hate it I'll ask you to stop, but I'll try anything that doesn't sound totally horrible."

"This is a very generous offer, lover. I will do wonderful things to you tonight," he grinned. Then he turned serious. "There is something I need to ask you, though, so I don't do anything that brings back bad memories for you."

"What do you need to know?"

"The fairies, when they had you, did they...?" He trailed off as though he couldn't say the word. That was really not his style, and I was a little worried what was bad enough that he couldn't say it. Then I realized.

"No, they didn't rape me. They were too busy having sex with each other." I shuddered at the thought.

"But Bill, when you were trapped with him in Jackson?"

"He stopped when he realized what he was doing, but it was too late." I was able to be almost matter-of-fact about it sometimes now; the memory didn't hurt the way it used to.

"Has anything else like that happened to you?"

"Well, I had a funny uncle when I was a kid. He didn't rape me but he... well, touched me and stuff. I feel better about it since Bill killed him. I mean, I know it's bad to feel that way, but he finally can't hurt me ever again and I like that."

Eric looked astonished. "Bill killed your uncle? Because he molested you when you were a child?"

"I probably shouldn't have told you that, Eric. Just forget I said anything."

"No, it is good you told me. I marvel at that moron's stupidity though. He knew what happened to you, he killed to spare you further pain, but he still did worse to you himself." He shook his head.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about this now."

"As you wish, lover. I just needed to know what I should avoid so I don't bring back any bad memories for you." He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and I melted against him.

"OK, I get it. Please don't tie me up or hurt me or pretend to force me, I know some people like that kind of thing but I probably couldn't handle it."

"Of course."

"Other than that, you can do whatever you want to me tonight," I smiled and kissed him.

"You will be very glad you made this offer, lover," he purred.

"I hope so," I agreed. Then I kissed him again.


	19. First time

I sat at the kitchen table, waiting apprehensively. I had made Eric an offer he could not refuse: tonight, I would try anything he asked of me sexually, with only a couple of restrictions.

He insisted he needed a few minutes alone in my bedroom first, so I waited. I was more than a little nervous, but I also felt a delicious sense of anticipation. Everything we had ever done in bed (or the shower, the kitchen table, my yard, his desk...) had been wonderful, and I had no reason to think this would be any different.

He blurred in and out of the kitchen in half a second, slamming a cupboard or two as he went. I wasn't sure what he had just retrieved, but I guessed I would find out soon enough.

Sure enough, he wandered out at human pace a moment later and knelt to kiss my hand.

"Ready, lover?" he asked.

"I'm not the one we've been waiting for," I retorted and stuck out my tongue at him.

He chuckled, then picked me up as though I weighed nothing. My arms were around his neck and I pulled him in for a kiss as he carried me to the bedroom. He had one arm under my knees and the other around my back, his big arms encircling me completely.

When he set me down gently on the bed, I got a chance to look around. My room was lit by a few dozen candles, which cast a beautiful flickering light that made the place look magical. It smelled wonderful too, and as I glanced down at myself in the white dress, I saw that the bed was covered in rose petals. The petals were exactly the same shade of red as the roses printed on my dress, I noticed happily. I wasn't sure if it was deliberate, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

"Wow," I whispered.

"Exactly," he agreed, staring at me. "I have dreamed so many times of peeling that dress off you and claiming you as my own. From the first time I saw you, I wanted you."

He pulled his boots off and climbed up next to me. He gently took off the sandals I was wearing, then lifted me up so we were kneeling face-to-face on the bed. He slid the red cardigan off my shoulders and dropped it on the floor. Then he reached around me and slowly pulled down the zipper at the back of my dress. I wore white lacy underwear beneath it, which was revealed as he slid the dress down my body to pool at my knees.

"Perfect. I always imagined you wore something like this beneath that dress."

He bent down to kiss the tops of my breasts, rubbing his hands over my hips and backside as he did. I loved the reverential look on his face; it made me hot in all the right places.

I reached forward and began unbuttoning his shirt, rubbing the newly-exposed flesh as I went. I slid it off his shoulders and immediately started working on his belt.

"You want me naked, lover?" he asked.

"Yes, please," I replied, and just like that, all his clothes disappeared. Vampire speed sure was useful sometimes.

He lay me down on the bed and pressed his cool, hard body against my warm, soft one. His strong arms held me against him tightly as he kissed me, over and over. He was by far the best kisser I had ever known, and after a few minutes, I was dizzy, breathless and ready for anything. I moaned loudly and ground my hips against him to let him know how I felt.

He responded by undoing my bra and dropping it on the floor, then sliding my panties off my legs and dropping them, too. I noticed that he wasn't throwing my clothes all over the place like he usually did; with so many candles burning in the room, that was probably a good thing. He paused to stare at my naked body with a hungry grin, then rolled me onto my stomach.

A second later, he poured oil on my back and began to rub my tight muscles. So that's what he had retrieved from the kitchen, I thought. I made a mental note to buy some proper massage oil – and to replace Amelia's pecan oil before she made salad again. He sat down on my butt, straddling me. I could feel his gracious plenty hard against the small of my back, but he made no effort to pleasure himself; he was completely focused on me. He kneaded my back muscles with his strong, talented hands and I lost track of time completely. I had never been so relaxed in my life, and the feeling was heavenly. When there was no tension left in my back, he worked on my shoulders and arms until they, too, turned to jelly. I sighed and softly moaned as he worked, enjoying myself completely.

Then he moved to my feet, massaging them expertly, one at a time. When he was done relaxing my feet, he moved to my calves, then my thighs, and finally my butt. It suddenly occurred to me that I was in exactly the same position he had been in the night before. I remembered where it had led and I realized he might have something similar in mind. My body was totally relaxed from the massage, but my mind was suddenly apprehensive. Could I? Wouldn't it hurt? Would it be really dirty? Was I going to bleed if he did this? My other first time had been really painful, and I expected this to be even worse since I was even tighter where he wanted to deflower me tonight.

He must have felt me suddenly tense up, because he picked that moment to slide a finger between my buttocks until he reached the tight, puckered opening. I gasped. He traced little circles around it and the new sensation felt odd for a second, then... good. Really good. I moaned out loud.

_So this is why he likes it_, I thought. _Such a sensitive spot._

Just then he pressed in a little, and I lost my train of thought completely. I was amazed by how great it felt. He had succeeded in wiping away all my apprehension; now I was looking forward to what was to come. When he withdrew his hand, I whimpered a little. I couldn't believe how much I wanted him to go on; this hadn't even been something I wanted to try a few minutes ago!

He flipped me over onto my back and looked into my eyes. For a second, I was worried about getting oil all over my quilt – it would never come out in the wash – but then I noticed there were only sheets and rose petals beneath me. He really had thought of everything! I breathed a sigh of relief and looked into his eyes happily.

"So I was right that you had never done this before?" he asked.

I was too aroused to form coherent words, so I just nodded.

"Good," he said with a wolfish grin. "Then I will be your first."

I just smiled back, and he went on massaging me. He worked much more quickly on my front than my back, simply checking for any muscle tension he had missed and moving on. When he was satisfied that my legs and arms were completely relaxed, he started running his hands all over my torso. He wasn't kneading the muscles now; instead, he had his hands flat against my skin and was simply sliding them all over me. It was such a simple thing, but it felt divine. He had spent a thousand years learning how to give pleasure, and boy, had he learned well.

When the rest of my torso was completely relaxed, he turned his attention to my breasts. He poured more oil on them, direct from the bottle, and I gasped as the cool liquid hit my nipples and trickled all over the soft globes.

"Watch me, lover," he commanded, and my eyes snapped to his. "No, watch my hands. When I'm not here and you need pleasure, remember everything I am about to do. These are things you can do for yourself when I am not here. Think of me when you come?"

"I always do," I whispered hoarsely, and I knew he could feel the truth in what I said through the bond.

He beamed with joy as he went to work on my breasts. It took him at least 15 minutes to show me all the delightful things he could do to them, and I was as fascinated by the sight of his hands dancing over my milky flesh as I was by the amazing sensations he was creating. He started so gently, rubbing his flat palms over me, then wrapping his hands all around them and kneading softly. He trailed his fingers to my nipple as he moved his hand away, holding it for just a second before he allowed it to slip through his fingers. It felt so amazing, I almost asked him to stop and just do that for the rest of the night – but after a few repeats, he moved on to other wondrous things.

He showed me all the different ways he could move his fingers over my nipples, and I moaned my appreciation of every single one: slowly rubbing across and back, tracing circles around, pressing firmly as he rubbed upwards, rolling the hard nub in every possible direction, gently twisting between his fingers, holding my nipple firmly between two fingers while he teased it with his thumb... he was like an encyclopedia of wonderful things, brought to life. Then he started handling my breasts more firmly and my moans turned to loud cries of delight. Pinching, pulling, twisting... then he started using his fingernails too, and it was all I could do not to throw him on the bed and fuck him senseless immediately. It was like there was a direct connection between my nipples and my groin, and the more intense the sensations he created, the wetter I got.

"Please, please fuck me," I begged. "Please, Eric. Now."

"But I haven't even shown you what I can do with my mouth," he chuckled.

He teased me with his words, but I guess he saw how much self-control it was taking me to not jump him, because a second later, his face was between my legs. He was licking me slowly and gently, drawing out my pleasure to give him time for other things. I heard what sounded like the snap of a rubber glove (the thin kind we have to wear when we handle food at work) and then his oily finger was tracing little circles around the tight, puckered opening he was about to claim as his own. _Wow_, was all I could think. His other hand was gently rubbing my breasts, one at a time. It was almost more pleasure than I could bear.

Then he slid his finger inside me, penetrating my ass for the first time ever. It felt... different. Tight. Like I was going to come any second. Wonderful. His slick, oily finger was moving inside me, challenging muscles that had never before opened like this, stretching them as far as he could without hurting me. His finger didn't feel so big inside me now, and I almost missed feeling as full as I had when he first slid it into me. I didn't miss it for long though: he suddenly had two fingers inside me, and I felt even fuller than before. This time, he couldn't slow down any more and I went right over the edge. I saw sparks, fireworks, electricity. I screamed and thrashed around as my whole body coursed with pleasure.

Before my pleasure could abate, he had picked me up with one arm while the two fingers of his other hand stayed inside me. Vampire strength sure was handy sometimes. He sat up so he was kneeling on the bed and straddled me over him, burying himself inside me in a single smooth movement. I was immediately spasming around him and screaming all over again, in an aftershock that was suddenly as big as the orgasm before it. The feel of his gracious plenty filling one opening while two fingers were still wedged in the other was excruciatingly pleasurable. I felt fuller than I ever had, and even though it hurt just a little, it was the kind of pain that made me come even harder and I loved it.

"Oh, Eric," I moaned as my pleasure subsided. "That was... wow."

He just grinned and starting licking my nipples, first one, then the other. I was still impaled on him and I knew exactly what he wanted. I thought about protesting for the first five seconds because I felt so satisfied I wasn't sure I could go on. Then he bit down gently on my nipple and sent a spark of lust to my core. I started moving up and down on him, slowly at first, experimenting with the feel of being doubly penetrated. I was moaning again as I started to speed up, the sensations now familiar enough that I wanted more. He was wriggling his fingers again, pushing them apart as he slid them in and out of me, stretching me open for him. I didn't care. I was grinding my clit against his pubic bone every time I sunk right down on him, and I was close again. Then he slid a third finger into me, and for the first time, it actually hurt a little.

"Ow," I whimpered, stopping my movements.

"Ssh, just relax, lover. Open yourself to me and it won't hurt," he coaxed. "Push down a little and you'll be fine."

He moved his free hand around to my clit and started rubbing me, while his tongue continued massaging my nipples. I tried to do as he asked and open up for him, and after a few tries, I found that I could. His fingers slid into me more easily and it felt great again. I smiled at him as I resumed sliding up and down his length, staying as relaxed and open as I could while I moved. I took his face in my hands and brought his mouth to mine. Our mouths made love to one another tenderly as our bodies fucked with abandon, and in a few short minutes, I was screaming my pleasure all over again. I silently thanked him for making me feel so wonderful as I caught my breath afterward.

He slowly lifted me up off him and slid his fingers from my body, letting me know what he intended to do next. I was relaxed and sated, but enormously curious still; I wanted him to take me one more time, to be my first in the one way he could. He poured more oil over his cock and spread it evenly with his hand. The thin rubber glove had disappeared, so I guessed he had tossed it away. He placed his tip at my other, tighter entrance and looked deep into my eyes as he pressed me down onto him. He was only an inch or two inside me, but for now it was more than enough. I whimpered a little at the intrusion; I had stayed relaxed so it didn't hurt, but I was stretched far beyond my comfort zone now.

"You're so big," I stammered, wide-eyed, "I'm not sure I can-"

"Ssh, lover," he soothed. "I am your first. I will be slow, and gentle, and if it takes a few tries, I really don't mind."

He ran his hands up and down my back as he spoke, stroking me gently. His words reassured me and as he started kissing me again, I felt a knot of tension I didn't know I was holding release. I was suddenly comfortable with him inside me. I smiled into his tender kiss and lowered myself another inch or so onto him. I gasped and threw my head back. This was starting to feel really good.

I continued that way, kissing, relaxing and slowly lowering myself onto him, until he was all the way inside me. It felt wonderful to have him fill me up in a way I had never been filled before, and I wanted to tell him how much this meant to me.

"Feels wonderful. Love you," was all I managed, but he got my meaning and smiled broadly. He whispered something in a language I didn't understand, and I felt his affection through the bond. I decided to just believe he was saying he loved me in whatever language it was and smiled back at him.

He went to lay me on my back, but I resisted by throwing my arms around him and holding him tightly. I wanted the skin-to-skin contact, and he must have got my meaning, because he put his arms around me too and let me stay on his lap. He went to move me up and down on him, but I ignored him and moved at my own rhythm. He captured my lips and our mouths dueled for dominance. We moved against each other furiously, pounding against each other's bodies.

I could feel that he was close; that pleasuring me for so long with no release of his own meant he wouldn't last long. I moved one hand between us and starting rubbing myself, trying to be ready before he finished. He held off as long as he could. The second I was there I whispered 'now' into his mouth and he came with me. He threw his head back and roared as his cool seed filled my forbidden passage, and I screamed along with him, completely spent.

We collapsed together on the bed, a tangle of limbs and hair. We were both silent for a few minutes, lost in a haze of bliss and completely incoherent. Finally, my mind cleared enough that I could speak.

"Thank you, Eric. That was magnificent."

"Lover, I don't understand why you thank me. If thanks are in order, then I should thank you, for letting me be the first to fuck your beautiful ass. Nobody else can be your first, the honor is all mine," he said proudly.

I tried to lighten the mood a little. "Well, I'm just glad my _first_ first time wasn't like that," I teased.

"Why?" He looked shocked and hurt.

"Because I would've been at Fangtasia every night for months afterward, begging you to fuck me like a common fangbanger," I grinned.

He looked pleased and kissed me some more.


	20. Last time

Eric insisted on taking a long, very thorough shower with me – I figured I probably knew why – and then we cuddled up together. The bed was oily and full of rose petals, but he pulled the covers around us and I didn't care. The candles still cast their golden light around the room and it truly felt like something magical had happened. My heart was full of joy and he returned the feeling through the bond. After a long, comfortable silence, he spoke.

"What was your _first_ first time like?"

I looked at him, wondering how much I should tell him. "Are you sure you want me to tell you this Eric? You won't get mad?"

"So it was not good," he concluded.

"Well... it seemed good enough to me at the time."

"You had nothing to compare it to then. Now that you do, you do not speak as though it was good."

I suddenly felt like I had to defend Bill. "It was a lot better than most of the first times I've seen in other women's heads. I had an orgasm at least, which is pretty unusual. I know I enjoyed mine a lot more than most women."

"Orgasms are not difficult. The right pressure on the right spot for a while and it happens," he dismissed. "Human men are remarkably inept if they cannot manage it. I was human once and I figured it out quickly enough. But you still haven't told me what your first time was like for you."

I sighed. "Well, it hurt a helluva lot more than what we just did."

He sat up and stared at me, looking stunned. "What do you mean, it hurt a lot? How much did it hurt? Were you not properly prepared?"

"I was ready, I wanted to do it. It was just the usual tearing and stuff, but it was OK, I was enjoying it by the time we finished. And he healed me afterward."

"He tore you and hurt you and _just kept going_?" He looked and sounded furious.

"I didn't tell him I'd never done it before, he didn't know. He did pause for a while when he found out."

He snorted. "He knew, Sookie. I could smell that you were untouched and he could too. He only had to insist you were his so forcefully that first time you came to Fangtasia because we both knew he hadn't claimed you yet."

I was shocked into silence for a few moments. "You think he was just pretending that he didn't know."

He nodded.

"But why? Why would he do that?" I asked.

"It gave him an excuse for taking you when you were unprepared."

"Eric, I was ready!" I snapped. "I wanted to, he didn't make me do it."

"No, he had given you more than enough of his blood to make you... keen. You were still unprepared," he lay back next to me and stroked my hair. "Tonight, you were prepared. Can you honestly say he took as much care to ready you?"

"Well we kissed for a while before... Oh, I get it. The massage, the oily fingers, the orgasms... you were getting me ready?"

He nodded. "I made sure you enjoyed it, that is all."

"Wow," I whispered in awe. "You spent over an hour just giving me pleasure, so I would enjoy it when you..." I wasn't sure how to say it.

"When I fucked your beautiful ass," he smirked.

"Well, yes," I blushed. "Thank you for taking so much care with me. That was wonderful of you. Thank you."

"Sookie, there is no need to thank me. You told me that thanking someone is the human custom when you inconvenience them, but you did not inconvenience me. I do not find it inconvenient to rub my hands all over your glorious body, or to make you come all over my face, or to be inside you. And I certainly didn't find it inconvenient to stretch you open and oil you up before I fucked your virgin ass. I got you relaxed enough and oily enough and I took you."

I really liked it when he talked that way, and sated as I was, I was starting to feel like I might want him again.

"You say that like being relaxed and oily enough is the most important thing in the world," I teased.

"It is," he assured me. "I would never take a woman who wasn't relaxed or wet enough yet. I don't have human morals, but I do have honor. I give at least as much pleasure as I get and that serves me well."

"What do you mean?"

"If I sleep with someone, they are always willing to do it again, if I want them. Usually I do not; most people are not worth bothering with a second time. But I make sure I am good enough that they talk about me. Then their friends want to be with me, to see if what they have heard is true. Over time it becomes a reputation, and my reputation has kept me fed for a thousand years. Until I was enchanted by a fairy princess and spoiled for all others. A fairy princess who would be much less work if she was bedded properly the first time and kept from harm since then."

"You think I'm damaged because of Bill?" I was getting defensive. "It wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad!"

"Lover, you are skittish. You don't trust men and the men you have been with have given you no reason to trust them, myself included. A virgin is a big responsibility, which is why I normally do not want them. Bill took selfish pleasure in your body and now you thank anyone who actually cares about your enjoyment. If he had broken you in properly, you would take pleasure as your due and revel in it."

I rolled my eyes. "Broke me in? You make me sound like a wild pony, being taught to let people ride it."

He smirked. "A better analogy than you know, lover. I prepared you well and broke you in properly tonight. You will let me ride you that way any time I want now, and your fond memories will make you relaxed enough that you will be much easier to ride," he conclude.

I pretended to think about it for a minute before I replied. "Yes, I think I will let you ride me again," I mused. "Perhaps very soon..."

I kissed him again, and he moaned into my mouth. After a few moments, he pulled back and stared at me.

"You said he tore you and just kept going."

"Yes, that's what I said," I snapped. "Can't we talk about something else now? Or not talk?"

"He did not even stop to taste you?" he asked, ignoring me.

I sighed. "No, of course he didn't. He kept going 'til we both had orgasms. End of story."

I leaned in to kiss him so the discussion would end, but he pulled back and looked at me incredulously.

"He did not bother to taste the blood of your maidenhead?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not, why do we have to talk about this now?"

He growled, sitting up again. "How dare he! To waste such a precious thing! To take such a gift when he placed so little value on it! I ought to stake him for showing you such disrespect, orders or not!"

"No!" I shouted, sitting up too. "No staking him! I knew I shouldn't have answered your questions. What the hell is your problem? It's our last full night together 'til God knows when, you could be fucking me senseless right this second, and instead, you want to talk about Bill. What is wrong with you?"

He looked taken aback. "I am sorry, lover, I did not mean to upset you." He pulled me close and I let him. "It is what you would call a 'weird vampire custom.' We have rituals around the taking of an innocent, it is not something that is done lightly. Usually a vampire will only seduce a virgin if they intend to keep them as a companion for some time, and they break them in with a great deal of care. They would give the human such a wonderful experience that they became a very willing lover.

"The blood of the maidenhead is significant to us because it is unique. There is only the one time a woman tastes that way. When a vampire tastes the blood of the maidenhead of a human companion, they boast about it for as long as they have that human, because even if they share the human with others, they have tasted her in a way that nobody else can. To simply waste it is a mark of enormous disrespect; it means that he did not think you fit to be his companion, did not think you fit to be even a favored pet," he was shaking his head.

"I doubt Sophie-Anne would order such a thing; she enjoyed breaking in virgins very much. She would find one she liked every ten or twenty years, seduce the girl and take her as a companion for a while. They were always her favorites, the ones whose maidenhead she tasted, who she personally taught of pleasure. She took pride in spoiling women for the attentions of human men, as I do, although you are right that I don't normally like virgins. Andre would waste such a thing without a second thought though, he had no problem with taking his pleasure at a woman's expense," he said with evident distaste.

"I didn't know that about Sophie-Anne," was all I could say. I wasn't sure I wanted to know any more about her sexual habits, or Andre's, and I had certainly heard enough about weird vampire customs for one night, so I changed the subject. "You didn't bite me before. You don't want to drink from me tonight?"

"I always want to drink from you, lover," he murmured in his huskiest voice.

"Would it be safe for me to take a little of yours as well? I mean, if you don't mind? My scars are mostly faded now, but the one on my thigh's still really ugly." I pulled the covers back to show him.

"I never mind you drinking from me. I would only ever deny you if it might turn you, because you told me you don't want that. There is no danger of it happening from a nip."

"Good."

I leaned over and bit his shoulder as hard as I could, then sucked his blood greedily. The wound healed so quickly that it took two more attempts to draw enough blood from him. By then, the rich, dark taste of him had me so turned on that I had to have him again.

He had one more first in store for me that night: he turned me around so I lay sideways across the bed on my back, with my head hanging off the edge. He stood on the ground and moved his feet apart until his groin was level with my lips. As he slid into my mouth, I realized I could take him much deeper than I ever had before. Perhaps it would be uncomfortable normally, I thought, but I had taken vampire blood mere moments beforehand and I found the feel of him sliding deep into my throat oddly enjoyable.

I held his gorgeous butt cheeks tightly to guide him as he slid all the way in and out of my mouth. He leaned over and licked me as I brought him closer and closer to his peak. We reached one more wonderful release together, and as his fluid spilled deep down my throat, he sunk his teeth into my thigh and drank deeply. When we were finished, he healed the little wounds carefully, as he always did.

When we snuggled back into bed, I felt perfectly happy and sated. I clung to him as I drifted to sleep, savoring his presence and trying to forget that he would soon be gone.


	21. Inheritance

Amelia came in to wake me up at 10:30 the next morning.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," she yelled in my ear as she shook me.

I grumbled and tried to roll over, pulling my pillow over my head as I did. Eric had kept me very busy the night before and it was practically morning by the time I slept. It was our last full night together before he went away, probably for months, and we had made the most of it. I really wasn't ready to wake up yet.

She sighed and tried a different tack.

"OK, Sook, I guess you can stay here, buck-naked in a bed full of cooking oil and rose petals. I'll just bring Mr Cataliades in to see you. I'm sure he won't mind, demons don't mind nudity, do they? I'll be back with him in a sec."

"Amelia!" I exclaimed. "Don't you dare bring him in here! I'll get up. I hate you, evil roomie."

I pulled a sheet around me and got out of bed.

"You hate me? Me?" she teased. "I wasn't the one who kept her roommate awake all night with her moaning, and screaming, and gasping, and grunting, and-"

"Get out! I'll see you in a few minutes," I told her as I pushed her through the door and closed it loudly behind her.

I pulled on jeans and a dark blue blouse, brushed my teeth, combed the tangles from my hair, and wiped the smudged mascara from my cheeks. I looked in the mirror and saw that I had a rose petal stuck to my neck. I peeled it off and inspected my appearance. Despite my efforts, I still looked like someone who'd had a very big night.

I almost walked out looking a mess before I realized I didn't have to. I concentrated, snapped my fingers and I was presentable. I was wearing the same outfit, but my clothes were now freshly ironed. My hair looked as though it was professionally blown out and my makeup was subtle but perfect. Even the dark circles under my eyes were expertly concealed. I smiled broadly. This was one power I _loved_ having. I silently thanked Niall for whatever it was that he did to me.

I went into the kitchen and found the lawyer sitting at the table, drinking tea and chatting with Amelia. They were discussing New Orleans, and how the re-building efforts were progressing. As I walked in, she excused herself and left.

"Hi Mr Cataliades, it's great to see you," I greeted him. "I'm so sorry I kept you waiting, I had a big night last night."

"Miss Stackhouse, it's lovely to see you too, and please don't worry about it," he replied. "Miss Broadway told me that your Viking leaves tomorrow. I hope he is returned to you safely, although knowing vampires they will demand some form of bloodshed. Nasty business, that, especially while you are under de Castro's protection."

I just nodded. I had no idea where Eric was going or why, only that he didn't expect to be able to see me for months. I was trying not to think about it.

"I'm glad to see Amelia made you some tea. Can I get you anything else?" I offered, remembering my manners.

"I am fine. Please sit." He gestured to an empty chair and I sat.

"What can I do for you, Mr C.?"

"Miss Stackhouse, today it is about what I can do for you. I have some news that I hope will make your life a great deal easier."

"What sort of news?" I was apprehensive.

"When your great-grandfather left this world, he made arrangements for you to inherit most of his estate. He accumulated a modest fortune while he was here, as well as some very interesting assets. He decided that of all his descendants, you would make the best use of these. The way he has done this is most unusual, which is why it has taken me a couple of weeks to finalize the paperwork and bring it to you. If I were to speculate about his reasons for structuring things the way he has, I would say he believes he may return to this world, because the arrangements he has put in place make it very easy for him to reclaim the bulk of his assets and simply keep making your trust fund payments each month."

"Trust fund? Uh, I don't have a trust fund."

"You do now, Miss Stackhouse," he grinned a wide and plainly inhuman smile.

"Niall left me a trust fund?"

"Niall left you all his assets, but your monthly trust fund payments are the easiest for you to access, apart from the personal effects he asked me to deliver." He gestured to a cardboard box on the table.

"So... what does that mean?"

"Niall's estate would be worth many millions, at least, if it were entirely liquidated, but my instructions are to leave his assets intact under the management of his current staff for now. The paperwork here will make you the owner of all his assets, although they are held through a series of trusts and shelf companies that make it almost impossible to trace you as their owner and beneficiary.

"Control of his businesses and properties will be transfered to you over a period of time, after his people have taught you how to manage them. They have value and power far beyond their monetary worth and it is important you fully understand what you are getting before you take possession of it.

"In the meantime, he has put together a small trust fund that will give you monthly payments for the rest of your life. It's only $10,000 per month, adjusted annually for inflation, but Niall felt that would be enough to make a difference to you, even before you take control of his other assets. He has also made arrangements for Jason and Hunter to each receive $2,000 per month from the trust, subject to your approval."

I was speechless. "Uh, this is a lot to take in." I had no idea what to do, but I knew there was someone in the house who might. "Do you mind if I get Amelia down here to help me with this? She knows a lot more about money stuff than I do," I admitted sheepishly.

"Certainly. I imagine Copley's daughter would be a good adviser to have," he agreed.

_Interesting. So Mr C. knows Amelia's father,_ I thought to myself.

I went upstairs where Amelia was reading a book in her sitting room and asked her to come downstairs to help me. She sat with us as Mr Cataliades patiently explained about Niall's estate all over again. When he was done, Amelia was all over the details in a way I hadn't been; she clearly understood what was going on.

"So what does Sookie need to sign today?" was her first question.

"I have paperwork that makes Miss Stackhouse the sole owner and director of a holding company that now owns, directly and indirectly, all of Niall's assets in this world." He pulled a folder of papers from a pile in front of him and put it in front of me. "I also have paperwork to authorize Miss Stackhouse's monthly payment from the Stackhouse family trust, which she and I will jointly control, and paperwork for Jason and Hunter's monthly payments as well, if she chooses to authorize them."

Amelia just nodded. "You're certain this holding company won't be traced to Sookie?"

"Of course. The paperwork connecting each asset to the company is deliberately convoluted and obscure. For added insurance, we have wards in place that deflect any attention that is paid to the paperwork connecting her to these assets, and alerts us to the enquiries," he smiled very proudly.

"So she won't have inheritance tax problems over this?"

I sat watching Amelia discuss everything with my lawyer and was suddenly very glad to have her for a best friend. I had no idea what I would do without her.

"No. It would be very difficult for anyone to prove the assets belonged to Niall in the first place, there is no death certificate for him so in a sense there is no inheritance, according to human law he is not even her relative, and his transfer of assets to Miss Stackhouse has been handled... well, shall we say, outside the usual channels," he grinned again. "Even the trust was officially endowed by a distant relation of Adele Stackhouse, someone who had no descendants of her own."

"That's very good to hear. Now what needs to be done with these trust fund papers?"

"Miss Stackhouse signs them and money starts being paid into the numbered Swiss accounts I have set up for her, Jason and Hunter. They will each get five month's back pay immediately – we had to change the dates to match our cover story – and each future month's payment will go through on the first day of that month."

"Swiss accounts," Amelia scrunched up her face. "Are you sure she'll be able to bring the money into the country without tax liability?"

"The trust has been set up so that beneficiaries' income is tax exempt, so there is no issue with paying the money into a US bank account instead if that is preferable. The Swiss account makes it much easier if Miss Stackhouse might want to move overseas and take her money with her, but if you plan to live in America for the forseeable future, a U.S. bank account is probably easier for you. Would you prefer I paid the money into your existing bank account?" He looked to me for an answer.

"I think so," I mumbled. I honestly didn't know what answer I should give. Numbered Swiss bank accounts were well outside my own areas of expertise, although Amelia seemed to know all about them.

"One last question," she added. "How is the trust endowed? You don't mind me asking, do you Sook?"

I shook my head.

Mr C. grinned again as he answered. "Niall took a few million of his cash assets and placed them in secure, income-generating commercial investments. His managers will review performance every year and make sure the investment mix hits our earnings targets. The interest on the investments is far more than the outgoings the trust is expected to have. Our projections show the surplus income topping up the principal above the rate of inflation for at least the next 15 years. So there will be no drawings from the principal for some time and in real terms, it will keep growing for a while. There should be no problems providing Sookie, Jason and Hunter an income for the rest of their lives, and it is likely there will be some left for their descendants to inherit."

$10,000 a month for the rest of my life? My head swam. It seemed unreal, like winning the lottery without buying a ticket. I had no idea what to do about all of it.

Amelia saw my confused expression and jumped in to help. "Before you sign these papers, would you like me to take a quick look over them for you?"

I nodded and she started reading.

I turned to Mr C. and made small talk while Amelia read. We discussed the weather, our mutual acquaintances and the state New Orleans was still in, so long after Katrina. The latter was his favorite topic of conversation, and he told me what was happening in detail.

Mr C. and virtually every other Supe in town was unhappy with de Castro's handling of New Orleans. After the hurricane, all the local Supes banded together to rebuild the tourist industry quickly because most made their money from it, directly or indirectly. Sophie-Anne had been working with the locals weres, witches, demons and fairies on some joint projects and progress was good. When Felipe took over, he immediately withdrew support from all of them saying he had his own projects planned and didn't need any help. None of his projects had begun yet and many of the ones he withdrew from had stopped, leaving the rebuilding effort in a mess. It made him unpopular with all the local Supes, including many of the vampires. There were rumors the Weres were so mad at de Castro, they would help any vamps who tried to overthrow him. I filed all this away for future use, thinking Eric should really know about it, if he didn't already.

Finally, Amelia was done reading. "All looks fine to me. Sign here, here and here and we're done. Did I miss any spots where she should sign?"

The lawyer shook his head. I signed where Amelia said and she looked happy.

"You're now the proud owner of a holding company with millions of dollars worth of assets. Some very tasty assets if their descriptions here are accurate. Your net worth is a helluva lot more than mine now, girlfriend. Pretty cool, huh?" she asked.

I just nodded. I was too overwhelmed to think any more of it. Last night I was poor; this morning I indirectly owned millions in assets and had $10,000 a month in trust fund income. There would be $50,000 in my bank account tomorrow. I knew it wouldn't feel real until I saw the money and 'assets' with my own eyes.

I signed the paperwork related to the trust fund payments as well, but asked Mr C. to hold off on paying any money to Jason or Hunter until I had a chance to let them know about it myself. He took my bank account details to start paying me and told me he would begin paying Jason and Hunter when I provided their bank details for the wire transfers.

I thanked him as he left. Then I sat down in front of all the paperwork on my kitchen table, wondering how much my great-grandfather's gifts were going to change my life.


	22. Gifts

After Mr. Cataliades' visit, I was in shock. I sat at my kitchen table, staring into space with my head in my hands.

Niall had left me millions of dollars worth of assets – although I still had no idea what any of those assets were – and a trust fund that would pay me $10,000 a month for the rest of my life. To me, the trust fund alone was an enormous amount of money; the rest was completely incomprehensible.

I had no idea what to do. What does someone do when they suddenly, unexpectedly, have a lot of money?

I knew I had to call Jason to tell him about his money, and visit Remy to let him know about Hunter's trust fund as well. Mr C. left a folder of paperwork for each of them, with the official story about where the money came from and all the documentation they needed to prove it was legal.

I knew what other people would do if they won the lottery: buy a bigger house, a fancier car, new clothes, a really big television... None of those things appealed to me. I liked the idea that I might be able to travel soon. I had always dreamed of seeing Europe, and now I could. But that was a few weeks of my new, moneyed life, at most. What would I do for the rest of it?

The only people I knew who had ever come into a lot of money were the Bellefleurs. I remembered that when Bill arranged for them to "inherit" from a distant relative in Europe, they spent much of the money restoring their family home. My family's modest farmhouse wouldn't soak up nearly as much money as the Bellefleur's mansion, but it sure could use some repairs.

As I thought about all the much-needed repairs I could do around the house, I kept coming back to the same idea: I wanted a better daytime hiding spot for Eric. As big a difference as it would make to repaint the peeling walls, fix all the windows that had stuck or wouldn't stay open, replace the fences that had fallen over... none of it mattered as much to me as keeping Eric safe. I knew Bill had many hidey holes around his home and the neighboring cemetary; I wanted Eric to have similar options when he visited me. I reminded myself that he was leaving me tonight and I wouldn't see him again for months, but I couldn't shake the idea.

I got up and called Jason but he didn't answer his phone; I texted him a message asking him to stop by tonight so I could give him some news.

Then I called Remy and got his voicemail. I left a message apologizing profusely for being unavailable when he called me for help a few weeks ago, then asked if I could come and see him to visit Hunter and share some news with both of them. I hoped he would return my call.

I had done all the things that made sense to me, so I sat down at the table again and stared into space a while longer.

Two hours after Mr. Cataliades left, Amelia came down and sat with me.

"You're an odd one, Sook," she told me. I just looked at her, so she kept going. "Any other person who just inherited as much money as you just have would be dancing for joy. You look like you're at a funeral. What's up?"

I stared at her a long time before deciding it was best to just tell her. "This is going to turn my life upside down, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to if you don't want it to."

"I really don't want it to. I like living here. Stackhouses have lived here for over a hundred and fifty years and that matters to me. I don't want to move to a fancy new house. I like my car, Tara gave it to me after the fire burnt my old one. I don't want a flashy new one. I could use a few new clothes, although I'd rather just conjure them up when I need them; it's much more fun than going to the mall. I don't even want a bigger TV."

She gaped at me in disbelief. "Why on earth do you think you have to move or get a new car? Or even a television?"

"That's what people think they would do if they won the lottery, they would buy a fancy house and car and all manner of new stuff... but I don't want any of that. I like living here, with you, and I don't need fancier possessions."

"Then you should keep living here. You don't have to do any of those other things if you don't want to. That's the point of having your own money, you can do what you want and nobody can tell you how to live your life."

Amelia knew a lot more about having money than I did, so I figured she was right.

"You're the expert," I smiled.

She grinned back. "You're right about staying here. Did you notice how Mr C. told you that all Niall's assets have, quote 'value and power far beyond their monetary worth', over and over? He said that twice while I was down here and once when I was listening in from upstairs – sorry about that, by the way, I just had to know. I think this place is kind of the same. That clearing in your woods is really special, it's some sort of magical hotspot. I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is. Octavia said it's a fae thing, maybe even a portal to their world, but we can't work it out for sure."

I just nodded. "Niall said this place is special but didn't tell me the details." Just then, something occurred to me. "Do you think that's why he left all his assets to me? Because I care for this place?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Niall's assets... were they mostly places?" She had read all the paperwork and understood it; I didn't.

"Well, there's investments in quite a few companies too, but yes, most of his assets are places. You wouldn't believe the property you own now. A Tuscan villa, a chateau in Provence, one of the biggest castles in Germany, a whole fjord in Norway, two private islands in the Mediterranean, a couple of places in Russia and at least five henges in Britain – and that's just the European ones. You've also got acres and acres of virgin forest all over the place: here, South America, Australia, New Zealand. Some jungle properties around Asia and grasslands in Africa, too. Plus lots of glaciers. Your great-grandfather has a real thing for glaciers."

I was too overwhelmed to take it all in, but I did notice a word I didn't know. "Um, what's a henge?"

"A stone circle. Stonehenge is the most famous, but its not so magic any more, really. The ones Niall left you sound like the real deal, I'd love to try casting spells at some of them. Can I? Please?" She was really excited.

"Sure, roomie," I agreed. "I've always wanted to go to Europe, I guess I'll have to go see all Niall's places some time."

"All your places, Sook," she corrected.

"No, not mine. I'm just the caretaker for a while. I'm sure that's why he left them to me. I feel like I'm caretaker of this place, both the house and the woods, and I like looking after it. So I'll care for Niall's places too, and when he comes back to this world, they'll be waiting for him."

"Well, caretaker, now that you have some money, maybe we can do something about the peeling paint outside, and fix some of the windows that don't open. Some of the fences have fallen down, too."

I laughed. "Already on my list. I think $50,000 will almost take care of it."

"Oh, you can easily do all that, and put in a swimming pool out the back too. You look so silly sunbathing in the middle of your lawn, you'll look much more normal sunbathing next to a pool."

I went to protest, then realized I would really enjoy having a pool. I would likely just sunbathe next to it most of the time, but a quick dip on a hot day would be really pleasant. This was Louisiana, after all.

"We'll see," was all I said about the pool.

"Fine, now stop keeping me in suspense and show me what else he left you," she demanded, gesturing to the box Mr. Cataliades had left on the table.

"You can open a cardboard box," I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, that's no cardboard box, and no, I can't open it. It's some sort of magical vessel, I can tell that much. It's giving off some definite 'piss off' vibes, that's why even you don't want to open it. It recognized me enough not to stun me when I touched it before, but no way can the likes of me open it. Whatever is in there must be pretty amazing to use a ward like that to guard it. I sure as hell couldn't cast anything this advanced. Real fae magic there. Open it!" she demanded.

She slid it across the table to me, and the closer it got to me, the more I felt like I wanted to push it back at her. It was like the spell the witches had used to get everyone to leave their neighborhood during the Witch War, but more powerful. I shuddered a little as I reached towards it, but when I touched it, I immediately knew it was mine. Interesting.

As I gingerly lifted the lid, there was a loud '_pop_' as though some sort of magical seal had been broken. I looked in to see three ancient books and a few objects, none of them familiar to me. I lifted them out one at a time, and Amelia's mouth hung open as I did. She was speechless when she saw each of the other items, but the third book drew immediate comment.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "A trashy romance novel? The rest had me impressed, but now I seriously wonder about Niall's taste."

"Huh?" I stared at the ornate leather-bound volume. "What romance novel?"

"The one in your hands, duh." Then she gave me a look like a light bulb had gone off in her head. "It's not a romance novel, is it? To me, it looks like a trashy drugstore paperback, but it's glamored, I can feel it now. What does it really look like?"

"Ancient, leather cover with lots of decoration, piece of silver around it to keep it locked, opens when I touch it..."

"No, don't tell me any more. If I can't see it, it's only for you. Everything else here is glamoured too, but I can see what they really are!" She was bubbling over with excitement. "Ohmigod, Niall _trusts_ me, he's set the wards so I can see what this stuff really is, even though it's disguised to everyone else." She reached over and touched the metal band holding one of the books closed, and it opened. "Wow, these books are full of fairy magic, and _I can read them_. This is amazing, Sook! Fairy magic!"

"You look like a kid in a candy store," I laughed.

She smiled broadly. "You have no idea. For a witch to be allowed to know about fairy magic... it's almost unprecedented. Fairy magic is incredibly powerful. I mean, I won't be able to do most of it because I'm not fae, but to even be allowed to learn about it is amazing. With even a little of this stuff under my belt, I'll make Hallow look like a Wiccan."

I smiled as she rambled, enjoying her excitement. Only a week ago, she was almost mute with grief; today she was as loquacious (Word of the Day yesterday) as she ever had been. It warmed my heart to see her come back to life after her loss, and I was genuinely happy that my great-grandfather's gifts pleased her so much.

I went to lift the last object from the box: a dark metal pendant with a large red stone in the middle, on a heavy chain of the same metal. As soon as my hand touched it, I knew it was for Amelia. I lifted it from the box and held it out to her.

"For you," I told her.

She took it gingerly and examined it carefully before she spoke. "Sookie, I can't. It's too much. You don't know what this is."

She went to hand it back to me, but I held my hand up to stop her.

"It's for you. It doesn't matter what it is, it's yours the same way the romance novel there is mine."

"No, you don't understand. This amulet is priceless. Literally. I've never seen one in person before, but I recognize it, and if this is what it looks like, you're giving me some hardcore magic here. If you sold this you'd get millions at least. But nobody who has one would sell it. Ever. They're incredibly powerful and utterly irreplaceable. I can't let you give me this."

I sighed. "Sweetie, it's yours. Really. When I touch it, the magic on it tells me that it's yours. Can't you feel it?"

"I feel it too, but it's still too much. I mean, fairies only give these to people who've earned their loyalty. Earning a fairy's loyalty is a big deal, and I can't just let you give me this."

"Amelia, I'm part fairy, you've earned my loyalty, and I'm giving you this amulet." As I said it, the stone in the amulet glowed as though it had just come to life.

"I would be lost without you right now," I continued. "Niall did something to activate all my fairy powers, but he and my cousins aren't here to help me deal with that. Part-fairy humans aren't supposed to get all these powers at once, and without you as my guide, I would be having a nervous breakdown right now. If you weren't helping me, new powers would activate for the first time, completely at random, every time I got mad. Plus you make me have fun with my powers, so they're not a total burden like my telepathy has been. I would never have tried to zap outfits and hairstyles into existence if you hadn't made me, and that's my favorite.

"You're also helping me deal with all the things Niall's left me. I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here to advise me. I don't really know how to say it, but Niall's assets have some major importance that I can't really describe... I just have this feeling about it. So it's a really big thing that you're helping me with this.

"I also have a feeling you're going to be an amazingly powerful witch one day, and us fairies will need you on our side. This gift has something to do with that too. I don't know how I know that, either, I just do.

"You're my loyal friend. You nursed me back to health. You stuck by me, even when being near me has put you in danger. You help me safeguard this place, which is important to all fae. You're the only person who can reliably piss me off enough to make new powers activate when I want them to. And I pick up all sorts of kinky sex tips from your head, whether I like it or not.

"For all these reasons, I bestow this amulet on you. Put it on."

She was stunned speechless, which was surely a first, but she did as I asked. She pulled the chain over her head and rested the amulet on her chest, over her t-shirt.

"You need to put it against your skin," I told her, although I had no idea how I knew that.

She tucked the amulet into the low scooped neckline of her t-shirt so it sat between her breasts, and adjusted the chain so it sat completely against her skin. As soon as she did, there was a flash of light and the whole amulet and chain appeared to melt into her flesh.

"Wow," I whispered.

"It's just a glamor," she informed me, her hands feeling the now-invisible necklace. "I can put my hand right through it, but I can also feel that it's there. It's stuck to my skin, but I feel like I could pull it off if I wanted to. Can you feel it?"

I reached out and touched her neck where the chain had been. "Yeah, I can feel it too."

"I'm pretty sure it's just us that can, you and me. I don't think anyone else could even feel it there. The magic is so strong, I don't know if fairies would know it was there unless they were told."

"Wow," I whispered again.

"Exactly. This is some hardcore magic you just gave me, Sook. Thank you."

"You're welcome, you earned it and will keep earning it, teacher," I winked at her. "What's the big deal about this thing, anyway? Are you some mega-witch now with your special necklace?" I teased.

"No, it doesn't give me any new powers, or even enhance what I can already do," she explained. "It's a protective amulet, the strongest one there is. It doesn't make me immortal, but it'll undo pretty much any harm that comes to me during my natural lifetime. The most powerful witches I've met can do things like turning a person inside out, literally. It's really gross. But with this on, if someone did that to me, I'd just flip the right way out again. It'd hurt, but I'd be good as new afterwards. It'll make me resistant to most magic, too, so turning me inside out probably wouldn't work to begin with. Which would be better, come to think of it."

"Wow," I whispered again. I seemed to be saying that a lot about this amulet.

"You seriously should've kept it for yourself. But once you bestowed it on me and told me why, I couldn't refuse it. I mean, literally, you bound it to me magically. But you should've kept it, you get into far more scrapes than I do."

I suddenly saw Niall's logic. "No, I think I need to feel it if I mess up."

"What do you mean?"

"I have all these new powers, right? I'm learning to use them, and I could screw up and hurt myself, but I think I'm supposed to. There's nothing like a whole bunch of pain to teach someone a lesson. I think you were given this so you can train me."

"What do you mean?" she repeated.

"You're human. A powerful witch, but still human, and you're here training a _fairy_ to use their powers. I think you get this to make it safe for you to do that."

"What do you mean?" she asked a third time. I guess I wasn't explaining myself very well.

"I don't have much control over my powers yet. Like that time I shot a lightning bolt out of my hand by accident, what if I'd hit you? If I had, you'd be dead. There'll be lots of things like that. For a start, I want to learn to teleport other people with me, but I'll probably screw up and hurt someone the first few times.

"I'm pretty sure this is a fairy secret and you can't tell anyone else, but the way teleporting works is, I pull myself into the space between the two worlds so that only a speck of me is still in this world, then I just flick that speck wherever I want to go telekinetically, then pull the rest of me back into the world where that speck is. That's what that popping noise is, pulling stuff in and out of the space between worlds. But remember the first time I did it, what happened to my clothes?"

She nodded; my clothes didn't come back into the world right the first time I teleported and I was clad in strips of rag until I teleported again and corrected it.

"I'm pretty sure the first few times I try to teleport another person with me will be like that, too. So whoever I practice on needs some sort of protection. If this amulet will put you right if I screw up, I can practice with you until I know what I'm doing. So I think this is yours because you're teaching me," I concluded.

She just nodded and sat in silence for a while, before she finally spoke again.

"Sookie, you have no idea what an honor this is, for a witch to get to guide a fairy as they learn to use their powers... I can't explain what it means to me, to be given the most powerful protective amulet ever created, to have books of fairy magic that I can read, to be able to see all these magical objects that are hidden from everyone else... it's an amazing privilege." She was close to tears, she was so touched.

"I think that's why you're my guide," I concluded.

"Why?"

"Because I honestly don't know what an honor this is. I don't know anything about fairy magic, or protective amulets, or magical objects. I wouldn't even know these things were magical objects. I know I'm part-fairy and suddenly have all this power but really, I'm still just a barmaid, Amelia. I can't do this without you."

She just smiled and leaned over the table to hug me.


	23. Oh, brother

Amelia and I were still sitting at the kitchen table when Jason came to see me after work.

We had spent the whole afternoon talking about the magical objects Niall had left me, or rather, Amelia spent the afternoon telling me what each object was, where it came from, and what it could be used for. By the time she finished, I realized that Niall had left me a full magical arsenal. With the dozen objects on the table, I would be able to take care of myself in almost any conceivable situation, assuming I mastered the magic I needed to use them. He had given me the tools he thought I would need to protect myself from now on, and I was more than grateful to receive them.

She also examined the cardboard box in more detail, studying the magic around it. She told me the contents of the box were actually stored between worlds, in the same "place" I moved my body when I teleported. That meant the contents of the box were almost impossible for anyone in our world to detect. Despite the security wards that stopped anyone else accessing the box, she said I could teleport it to myself anywhere in the world when I needed access to the objects in it. I knew I would have to take good care of it, and she assured me the wards on my home were strong enough to keep it safe for now.

When we heard Jason's car coming up the driveway, she started to put everything back in the box, but I held my hand up for her to stop. She looked at me questioningly.

"I'd like to know what he sees," I explained. "If he sees through the glamor that's supposed to hide them, sunset's only half an hour away and Eric can make him forget what he saw."

She smiled and nodded, organizing the books and objects so they were displayed along one end of the table.

Jason parked behind the house and came in the back door without knocking. We hugged one another, and he and Amelia exchanged greetings and nods.

"What do you think of Sookie's new favorite things?" she asked him, gesturing at the things Niall had given me.

He looked baffled. "Three romance novels and a bunch of china ducks? Were they Gran's?"

She and I exchanged a happy look; the gifts from Niall were well hidden.

"Amelia's just teasing you," I explained.

"Ah," he nodded. "You wanted to speak to me about something? I've got a date at seven so I can't stay long."

Amelia rolled her eyes behind Jason's back, showing her opinion of his dating habits. In his head I saw a girl we had gone to high school with, whose name I couldn't remember – and he couldn't, either. He planned to have sex with her tonight and never call her again. Typical. Being irresistible to women was the only gift his fae blood had given my brother, but he took full advantage of it.

"Sit down," I suggested, gesturing to the kitchen table.

He sat right down at the head of the table, as though he were the man of the house. It seemed wrong somehow.

"Amelia, do you mind staying with us? Just in case he has any questions?"

"Sure," she agreed and sat down on his left, while I walked around to sit on his right.

"This sounds ominous," he worried, looking at her.

"Nothing like that," I reassured him. "We both inherited some money and she understands the legal stuff a lot better than I do."

"Who from?" was his first question.

"Niall," I answered.

"The fucking fairy," he grunted.

"Well, you don't have to take his money if you hate him that much," I pointed out.

"How much?"

"It's a trust fund. You'll get $2,000 a month for the rest of your life -"

"Adjusted each year for inflation," Amelia interjected.

"But the first payment will be for five months, because the dates worked better with the cover story," I finished.

"Cover story?"

"We couldn't really tell the IRS our great-grandfather the fairy created a family trust for us when he closed all the portals between his world and ours. So the paperwork says it was a distant cousin of Gran's from Tallahassee who left us the money; the lady died five months ago and had no descendants of her own so it works well."

"How much did he leave you?"

I made a choking sound. It was the one question I didn't want to answer. "Well, uh..."

"I know he hated me, Sook. I know he would give you a lot more than he gave me."

"It's not like that," I protested. "He left me money to care for this place. The woods out there are significant to the fae. He wants me to be able to stay here and keep the house, so I can protect the woods. The first payment will really just cover all the maintenance work I haven't been able to do because I didn't have the money, like re-painting outside and fixing all the fences that have fallen down."

"How much?" he demanded.

"$10,000 a month," Amelia told him.

"I figured as much," he muttered. "So what do I have to do to get my money?"

He was terse and angry. Amelia took over the conversation.

"You just have to sign this paperwork to say you accept the money and you'll obey the rules of the family trust. But they don't really impose any rules, except that you can't use the money for anything illegal. That's standard for trusts like this, they have to put it in so the trust can't be held by the cops if you get arrested. It's occasionally used to cut someone off if they're a total fuck-up and spend all their trust money on drugs and need to be forced into rehab. Sookie and her lawyer are the trustees, so as long as she's OK with you getting the money, you get it. Sign here and here when you're done reading it," she directed him, pointing to the spots where he should sign.

He scrawled his name without bothering to read the paperwork. "So now what?"

"You give Sookie your bank account details and she'll pass them on to her lawyer to get the wire transfer set up. It's too late to make the first payment today, so it'll be done tomorrow instead and you'll have your money the day after. The trust's set up so the beneficiaries don't have to pay tax on the money, so you keep every cent you get."

"Fine," he grunted. "Gotta get ready for my date. Bye Sook."

He walked out without looking at me again. Amelia went after him to give him his copy of the paperwork. He took it without a word, hopped into his truck and left. She came back inside looking angry.

"What an asshole!" she shouted.

I knew I should defend him, being my brother and all, but it took all the loyalty I could muster just to keep from agreeing with her.

"How 'glass half empty' can that idiot be?" she raged. "Someone gives him $2,000 a month for the rest of his _life_ and he's pissed off because you got more. It's not even your fault, how dare he be so angry at you over something Niall did!"

"Give him some time, he'll come around." I hoped it was true.

"Don't bet on it. Money brings out the worst in people. Don't be surprised if he's on the phone to Mr C. first thing in the morning demanding that he get the same amount as you. Or if he tries to guilt trip you into giving him money every time he wants something because you get more than him. Or if he just stops speaking to you altogether. People become such assholes when money is involved."

It occurred to me that her anger wasn't solely about Jason.

"Bad experiences, huh?" I asked gently.

She softened immediately. "A lot of bad experiences, Sook. You have no idea. I love living here in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, in this rundown farmhouse, with my dirt-poor fairy friend who cares more about her magic meadow and her vampire lover than she does about fancy houses, new cars and big TVs. This is heaven for me. I love being away from all the politics that come with money."

"Then you'll just have to teach me how to be normal even when you've got a trust fund and rich relatives," I grinned.

"My pleasure," she beamed back.


	24. Something to remember

Amelia and I were still sitting at the kitchen table when Eric came out of the spare room a few minutes after sunset. We were chatting about the ways that people change when they have money, and I was memorizing everything she said so I could make sure that Niall's money didn't turn me into an asshole.

I gave her a warning look as soon as I heard him moving around, but it didn't stop her blurting out my news the second Eric walked in.

"Your fairy's rich now," she blabbed.

"Amelia!" I exclaimed.

"Niall left her everything. She's got houses _everywhere_. Plus henges and fjords and virgin forest and a few castles too. And so many glaciers you wouldn't believe it. She has a trust fund now, too."

"Interesting," was all Eric said. He looked distracted.

I stood up to hug him and he buried his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply.

"Later, Amelia," I insisted. She put Niall's gifts back into the cardboard box and went up to her room, leaving us alone.

"You've got more important things to think about," I acknowledged. "You have to go. It's something awful, isn't it?"

"I've survived worse," he replied.

He sounded confident but I could feel how nervous he was. I didn't know what could make a thousand year old Viking vampire nervous, but I knew he was probably right when he said I didn't want to know. I was curious, of course, but I had seen enough awful things already. If he was trying to shield me from something terrible, I would let him, I decided.

"I'll miss you," I whispered.

"And I you." He pulled back to look me in the eye, still holding me. "Lover, if something goes wrong and I don't come back -"

"You might not come back?" I interrupted.

"It is very unlikely now. There is little incentive; he cannot simply kill me and take you any more. But to be sure you would be safe, I had to do something you would call high-handed. If I don't come back, please do not think badly of me for this. I promise, the alternative would have been far worse. I did the best I could for you," he stroked my face.

Tears streamed down my face silently. He might not come back. He might be going to his final death. He hadn't told me that before, although I had wondered about a comment Pam made after the Fairy War, about Eric living on in me. He had to leave to face something terrible and it was all because of me, I realized.

"I will give you my blood one last time before I go, so you finish healing," he offered.

"Don't you need all your strength?"

"You won't need enough to weaken me."

I nodded, took his hand and led him towards my bedroom. I closed the door behind us, and when he sat down on my bed, I paused just to look at him. He wore dark jeans and a plain black t-shirt, he was barefoot, his hair was loose, and he looked incredible. I marveled at how such a simple, almost thoughtless outfit made him look even more beautiful. I stared at him for a few moments, memorizing every detail.

I went to him and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around him. I just sat there, staring into his beautiful blue eyes, for a few moments, and he stared back at me with equal intensity.

"Can you do that thing where clothes just disappear?" I murmured.

He stood up, still holding me, set me on my feet, and a second later we were both naked. Vampire speed came in very handy sometimes.

"Better," I smiled.

I looked him up and down and up again, wanting to commit every part of him to memory. If there was any chance he wasn't coming back, I wanted to remember every last detail of him. He was the most beautiful man I had ever known, and for an hour or two more, he was mine. When I looked up into his eyes, he was studying me as intensely as I studied him.

Satisfied that my mental picture recorded him perfectly, I closed the gap between us and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. He put his hands on my butt and held me close to him, kissing me over and over. We were lost in one another's mouths, slowly and sweetly melding lips, tongue, teeth. His fangs were down and when I ran my tongue over them, he moaned.

He pulled away from me momentarily to retrieve the knife from my nightstand, where it had stayed for the past three days. I smiled a little. I had never expected to keep a knife on my nightstand for sexual purposes, and yet, here I was...

He made a cut above his left nipple and I latched onto it immediately. I savored the taste of his blood, so rich, so sweet. I greedily sucked a whole mouthful in, then rolled it around my mouth for a while, committing every detail of his taste to memory. When I finally swallowed, a wave of lust hit me and I pulled on the fast-closing wound to take as much of him as I could.

When the blood flow stopped completely, I let go of his nipple and looked up at him, licking his blood from my lips. I knew he loved to see his blood on my mouth, and he stared at me hungrily as I ran my bloody tongue all around.

"You taste wonderful," I murmured.

"As do you," he replied huskily.

We moved onto the bed and lay side by side, facing one another. We kissed again and again as our hands roamed all over one another's bodies. The feel of his mouth on mine and his cool flesh under my hands had my complete attention. I had mentally recorded the sight, smell and taste of him before; now I memorized the way it felt to touch him. The smoothness of his skin, the firmness of his muscle, the softness of his chest hair. His back, chest, arms and butt were within my reach and I ran my hands over them repeatedly. As he moved, I tried to record the way his muscles rippled under my hands. I was wet and ready, but burning every inch of him into my memory was far more important than getting off.

He pulled back to look me in the eye as his hands finally made their way to my center. He pulled my leg up onto his hip and slid one finger into me, then two. I whimpered in delight, but kept my eyes fixed on his. My mind was working overtime, trying to hold onto enough sense to recall these exact sensations later. When he moved his thumb to my clit and starting rubbing it in tight circles, the sensation overwhelmed me and I gave up on thinking. I wouldn't be able to remember exactly how it felt later but I didn't care. I kept staring into his eyes as he built my pleasure quickly and expertly. My eyes began to close of their own accord as my climax approached, but he commanded me to look at him and my eyes snapped open to comply. Moments later, a wave of bliss surged through me and I came around his fingers. I watched his face the whole time.

As my pleasure subsided he moved to enter me, but I pushed lightly on his hip to stop him. There was one last part of him I had to memorize. I reached between us to fondle his gracious plenty with both hands. I had to know every detail of him by heart before I let him go on; there would be no time later. As my hands worked up and down, I thought of all the pleasure this one part of him had brought me and smiled at him. I marveled at how the skin was soft as velvet but underneath it he was rock hard. I reached down further to stroke his soft curls, then took his balls in my hands to memorize their feel as well. Finally, I took his measure. I wrapped my hand around him, mentally noting that my thumb and middle finger almost met when I squeezed very firmly. I slid my hand to his base, then stacked my other hand above it. I removed the first hand and stacked it above the second, noting that it fit him perfectly.

"You are measuring me," he chuckled.

"Memorizing you," I corrected. "I won't forget anything."

He smiled and stroked my face. "I could never forget you. Not again." His voice turned sad and soft at the last part.

I smiled back and threw my leg over his hip again, then guided him into me. He rolled me onto my back and I wrapped my legs around him. His entire body was pressed against mine and it was perfect. He slid his body up and down mine as he moved in and out, staying in complete contact. We kissed with our eyes open, staring at one another. I was edging closer and closer to my peak but my mind was conflicted. I wanted him to bite me, to drink deep and take as much of me with him as he safely could; but I also wanted to look in his eyes as he came with me. I figured out how to get everything I wanted and pressed against his hip so he paused for a second. He looked confused and a little hurt until I spoke.

"Can you, um," I was having trouble forming a coherent thought. "Can you bite me and keep going? I want to look in your eyes when you come."

"For you, lover, anything," he purred.

"Take more than usual," I whispered.

He shook his head. "I won't weaken you."

"I don't mind. Take as much of me with you as you can."

"You're sure?"

I nodded and he started moving again. He slid his arms beneath me and wrapped them around my back, then lifted my upper body up gently, resting his weight on his elbows. I wrapped my legs tighter around his waist and lifted my hips off the bed. I was floating in the air a few inches above the mattress, touching only him as he moved in and out of me. He supported both his body weight and mine on only his elbows and knees and still moved freely; I was pretty sure no human could do that. It felt great. I pressed my clit against him firmly as he moved me up and down, and soon I was close again. "Now," I told him, and he slid his fangs into the tender skin that covered my jugular. It sent me over the edge and I came and came as he drank and drank. I was dizzy when he finished, but it felt right somehow.

He kept sliding in and out of me, keeping my whole body pressed firmly against him. My head lolled back a little, but when he kissed me, his mouth was full of his own blood and I felt better almost immediately. He pierced his tongue with his fangs again and I sucked it into my mouth greedily. I was getting close again and when I looked into his eyes, I could see he was barely holding himself back. I hooked my feet around each other behind his back and used them for leverage to slam my hips against his once, twice, three times, and I was there. As he felt my climax start, he let go and followed me, looking deep into my eyes the whole time.

We clung to one another for a few minutes afterwards, still staring into one another's eyes and kissing softly. Time was not on our side and we had to get ready for him to go. We got out of bed and dressed silently. There was nothing more to say; our bodies had said everything already.


	25. Goodbye

It was 9:30 when Eric and I left the bedroom and he had to go by 10.

We went into the kitchen and he talked to Amelia for a few minutes. It seemed important from their tone of voice and they kept glancing at me, but my heart was breaking at the thought of him leaving and I couldn't keep any thought in my head for long enough to process it. I wished for a miracle, for some reprieve, but I knew none would come.

I caught snatches of their conversation: Dr Ludwig, the trust fund, repairs to the house, care-taking Niall's properties, fairy magic, Jason. They didn't try to engage me and I was grateful for that. When they finished talking, Amelia wished him good luck and went upstairs, leaving us alone. He came to me and put his arms around me. I remembered what I wanted to ask him and pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes.

"Eric, I have to ask you something," I almost whispered.

He simply nodded.

"I'll be getting some things fixed around the house now that I have the money to do it, and while it's being done, I thought... I was thinking of building a better hidey hole for you to sleep in. Maybe even a small basement. Are you coming back? Do you want that?" my voice cracked.

"I would like that very much," he beamed. "I will be gone far too long, but when I get back, I will never leave your side again."

"I'd like that," I smiled up at him.

"Vampire accommodations are a specialist job, my love. Let me send someone 'round to help you with it?"

I thought about arguing but just nodded instead. Our last minutes together would not be wasted fighting.

I tucked my head back against his chest and we clung to one another as our last few minutes ticked by. My eyes filled with tears that slowly spilled over and soaked into his t-shirt. He was really going; our time together was over again. He said he would be back, we would be together again, but I knew from past experience that it would be a very long time. I held him to me like a drowning person holds a life ring, as love and sorrow flowed back and forth through the bond. I wondered how I had ever doubted my feelings for him.

"I have to go," he finally said, but he didn't loosen his grip on me. He hadn't held me so single-mindedly since he was cursed and I knew that whatever he had to face must be horrible for him to worry so.

Something told me he couldn't let go of me and I had to be strong for both of us. I pulled back just enough to look at his face and was stunned by what I saw. Blood tears had traced paths all over his face, bright red drops of sorrow. I pulled his face down to mine and licked away his tears. When his face was clean, he leaned down and licked my tears away in return.

I stepped back out of our embrace and wrapped my arms around myself.

"I'll miss you, Eric. Be safe."

"Think of me, lover."

Neither of us could bear to say goodbye. As he turned and walked out the door, my heart was torn to shreds. _Goodbye, Eric. I love you_, I thought to myself.

I went to my bedroom, buried my face in a pillow that smelled of his hair and cried myself to sleep.

_Fin_

* * *

_Author's note: Sequel "A Lover and a Fighter" is now online.  
_


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